Black Rose
by MillieSaenz
Summary: After his CIA partner and love interest Carter Luving dies, Alex turns to a life turns of non stop drinking and partying. But a new killer named Black Rose begins making rounds around the world...and Alex is next on her list. When she attacks him in the middle of the night Alex begins to realize that sometimes the past never dies and that black magic... is never extinguished.
1. The Beautiful Life

You know that feeling of when it seems that everything's gone downhill but it still feels good? How everything's all messed up but it's all working to your benefit? How when you're in a room full of strange people, some slapping you and some rubbing, some groping you that you enjoy it but still deep inside you feel all alone? And lastly, do you know that hurting feeling of how when you decide to ignore that other feeling?

Alex Rider did.

But he always locked it away. And when it came back he would do the inevitable.

House party. Free get-ins for the club. Bachelor party when no one's getting married.

Yeah, he'd changed a lot over the last nine years.

Alex wasn't that young fourteen-year-old boy anymore who had been back-stabbed by multiple people, worked undercover in dangerous missions most older MI6, CIA, or even KGB agent would agree to, faced death countless times by practically knocking on its door, lost their whole family to the government and its quarrels of revenge and justice and lastly found the perfect person he never thought could exist and lost her in the blink of an eye. The slip of a hand.

He didn't act like that young boy either.

Over the past few years he and Jack--his housekeeper and practical sister that had come from America to study law and ended up working and staying at Ian Rider's house--had stayed in his late uncle's house and as they went by they had discovered something totally unexpected.

Apparently when Ian had signed up to work in the "Royal & General Bank" they had certain things he'd had to do before being able to work there. One of those things was a will, just in case something ever happened to him they'd know immediately who to give the property to--_Go Figure _was the first thing in Alex's head when they lawyer had contacted him and Jack on his eighteenth birthday.

Alex remembered it clearly as he sat in the back seat of a sleek 2016 black Mercedes-Benz. The city lights glaring and skidding across the tinted windows like flashes of neon streaks. The motor purred with a soothing vibe that sounded like a lull, the tires practically glided across the newly paved___________ in London, England. He sat comfortably in the black leather seats as his chauffer Eric Thomas drove for him.

"Onto the house, Mr. Rider?" Eric asked as the middle glass panel between him and the blonde-rich-deep-eyed twenty-three-year-old slid down and let them catch a quick glance in the rearview mirror.

Alex gave a small grin, that looked as dangerous as it did sexy. It was one of the first things that drove the women wild for him. That and the amount of money he had in the bank.

"Of course, Eric." he told him, pressing the button near the window and making the panel slide back up effortlessly.

* * *

"What exactly did he tell you?" eighteen-year-old Alex asked, slowing down his strides so that Jack could keep up.

"Who, the lawyer?" she asked, pulling her red hair up quickly in a hair tie and smoothing out the wrinkles in the only skirt she owned, trying to hide the fact that she had only slipped on the skirt, a white shirt and some without really paying attention to it.

Alex nodded.

"Well," she said, dusting off her sleeves, "he said that apparently your uncle left a will--"

"You told me that part."

"Well don't interrupt and I might tell you the rest." Jack rolled her big green eyes and Alex smiled.

"He said that there was some stuff on the will that we might--"

"There're usually things on wills."

Jack took her small purse and swung at Alex, hitting him in the stomach.

"And we might want to review what they were."

"But if he left a will why would they just _now _tell us? It's been almost five years since Uncle Ian died."

"I know. I asked him that and he said all would be explained once we got there."

Alex turned the corner and began walking backwards on the sidewalk, not bothering to look behind because Jack immediately started telling him where to walk.

"A little bit to the left." she said.

He moved and a woman passed him.

"Is that all he told you?" he asked.

"Besides the usual 'Hello, is this Miss Starbright?' bit--left--" Alex moved, "yeah that's pretty much it."

"Where's the lawyer going to meet us at?"

"Well," Jack rearranged her long silver necklace that had two black wings and a white mask in the middle of them inside her shirt, "I wasn't sure if it was really a lawyer, you know? You can never be sure when it comes to matters concerning you, you know?"

Alex kept walking but the smile on his face faded. He knew exactly what she meant.

Jack inevitably noticed the change in his features and bit her lip for a moment. Then cleared her throat and said, "Anyways. I asked him where he wanted to meet at and to our luck--right--he did _not _say the Royal & General bank."

"So he's not with Special Operations?"

"Nope." Jack made a popping sound with her lips as she finished the word.

"Then it's not a fraud."

"I hope not." Jack stuck a mint in her mouth, "It better not be. Because first of all I gave them a very clear warning about trying to meet back up with you."

"Jack that wasn't a warning."

"Left."

"That was a threat if anyone ever heard it."

"Well, it worked anyway. They haven't tried to talk to us since you…" she bit the inside of her cheek. Alex could tell she was thinking of a way to put it that wouldn't hurt him, she always bit her cheek when she thought, "…since you got back from that last mission--which was forever ago." she chuckled.

Alex couldn't help but smile.

_Since I got back from that death…_

Alex shook his head and tried to get the thought out of his head.

"Actually, Jack, it was only four years ago."

"Dang, let's be technical! Forever, four years--difference?"

"A big difference."

She looked at him dumbly, " 'There's a big difference'." she mocked, "Whatever. Right."

Alex moved to the right and began to laugh. He loved to tease Jack. It was so funny to see her get aggravated when--_thwap! _Alex ran into the large light pole behind him that he hadn't seen.

Jack was laughing and already running down the street, yelling, "Other right!"

"Jack!" Alex rubbed his head and ran after her.

He could see her laughing so hard she could barely run. He caught up to her quickly because of his 6' stature. He grabbed her by the waist and swung her around.

"No, Alex, stop!" she laughed harder.

Within twenty minutes they were at the lawyer's office, walking into the quiet building and looking for office number 108 which belonged to the lawyer Edward Shapt.

"Are you sure we're not late?" Alex asked, swinging his shaggy out of his eyes to look at the numbers and names that labeled each wooden door in black or white letters on silver plates.

"He just said as soon as possible, but to come in today. Even if it was late tonight." Jack explained to him, swinging her arms as they walked. Jack hated lawyers with a passion!

"Really?"

"Yep, but I don't like dealing with lawyers." she gave a mock shudder, "give me the heebie-jeebies. So I thought we'd get this over with now and go celebrate your birthday with Tom!" the last four words were said with a sing-song voice and jump in the air.

"_Joy._" Alex said, swinging his hair again.

Jack rolled her eyes and grunted, "Alex, would you _please_ cut your hair!" her question was more of a demand.

He had let it grow out recently to where it almost covered his eyes and was already at the middle of his neck, it shaded his features deeply. He liked it that way. It made it more difficult for people to look at him.

"You look like some hippie-wannabe from the seventies." Jack told him, a grin on her face.

"Thank you?" he said with a laugh. For some reason it hurt to laugh. It had for the past four years.

"You're welcome--this is it!" she knocked at the door lightly and from the inside there was a deep calm voice that said:

"Come in."

Jack opened the door and saw Mr. Shapt sitting behind his black metal desk, his hands folded over a thick yellow file and his face stretching a smile that could've seemed forced.

"Ah," he said, his voice smooth and calm as he stood up from his desk and pushed the chair back, no sound coming from it, "Miss Starbright I presume?"

"Yes, sir," Jack extended her hand to him and he shook it, "and this is Ian Rider's nephew Alex."

"How do you do?" Shapt asked.

"Fine thank you."

Shapt gave a warm smile and sat down in his desk again.

"I want to thank you for coming--please do sit down--for coming on such short notice. I know it's quick and that it's also your birthday, but my employer told me it was urgent that I show you Mr. Rider's will."

Jack swung a leg on the other and tried to appear confident as she asked, "Well, Mr. Shapt, that's what I needed to ask you."

He nodded, folding his hands again, "Of course, by all means go ahead."

"If Ian had a will, why are we just now being informed of it? It's been almost five years since his death, I mean Alex is eighteen now and I've been his guardian for--"

"I know, Miss Starbright." Shapt interrupted, "The reason we're just now contacting you is because Mr. Rider gave us strict instructions that when this will was made neither the firm or his office were to contact you about it until Alex was eighteen. He believed it to be…I believe his words were 'A safe age'."

_Bull. _Alex thought as he sat in the uncomfortable hard chair beside Jack. He could see her already tensing up because of the lawyer.

"Oh." she said, shifting in her seat, "well we do have a lot of things to do today so if we could please hurry…?"

Shapt smiled, "Of course, ma'am."

He took his hands off the folder he had in front of them, taking out a thin metal card and placing it over the black square that was on the folder.

It was the newest security system that hospitals, firms, schools, and whoever else kept important files use. The small black square on the folder had a scanner that would read the silver cards special code and only unlock it if the codes matched. Otherwise it was completely useless to try to break into the file.

The black square beeped and Mr. Shapt opened the folder, rummaging through the many papers in it, his brown eyes scanning the headers on each one quickly.

"Ah," he pulled out two papers, "here it is.

"Now then," he smiled again, "let's begin…"

Over the next hour Edward Shapt discussed almost every intricate detail of _inside _the house to the other properties that Ian had owned, to the precious sports cars that stayed in the garage and to the ownership of the house--Jack slapped his leg and gave a mouthed, "Ha!" as she heard her name.

"Oh, and one last thing." Shapt reached for the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out two separate papers. Alex found it strange that if those two pieces of papers belonged to Uncle Ian's will that they would be out of the yellow file. Wouldn't it be safer in the secured folder?, "Ian told me to place this separate"--_There's my answer,_ Alex thought--"because he said that it was very crucial that you got this."

He reached down again into the drawer and when he straightened up there was a orange and black shoebox in his hands, a simple A. R. on the top. He leaned forward and handed it to Alex, not Jack. Alex stared at it and took it, his eyes furrowing in confusion.

Shapt saw the confusion and he told him, "It's a series of letters he wrote everyday after all the conferences he went away to because of the Royal & General Bank. He said he wanted you to read them once I gave you the will."

Alex felt all his feelings rush up at once to the surface of his conscious but he never let them break through the thick veil of his remorse. He became good at that, hiding the small feelings that felt weak and somewhat not necessary.

But he couldn't help feel them. When Ian died he's thought every recent thing of him, his only family, had left with that death. But it wasn't. In his hands Alex held the _letters _that he wrote by hand…to him.

"He told me," Shapt continued, "to tell you that you should read them when you're ready and also to…forgive him."

It seemed like forever before he breathed again, before he could truly comprehend the fact that it was his Uncle Ian was asking for forgiveness. Forgiveness for what? He'd never done anything but loved him, taken him in when his parents had died, he'd never done anything to hurt…

Alex looked up from the black and orange shoebox in his hands and at Shapt again. The man was staring at him with a look he knew well, a look he hadn't missed for the past four years, a look that always painted the faces of the oh-so-loved Mrs. Tulip Jones and ever-gray Mr. Blunt.

This man was MI6.

Ian had been apologizing because he knew eventually that they would get Alex, they would use him, hurt him, scar him. Alex felt his insides heat like a white heat in a burning fire, ready to burst once he go too hot.

Jack put her hand on his, Alex stopped looking at Shapt and back at the box. For some reason he didn't want to open it anymore.

_It was all your fault…_he thought, _you led them to me, you led me to MI6, you let them hurt me, you let me meet Ash then lose him in a moment, you let them almost kill me, you let me meet Carter…_

He couldn't go on in his own head. He was tasting something in the back of his mouth that was rancid and wanted to get a drink of cold water _now. _

"Also--" Shapt began again but Alex interrupted him, he wanted to get out already, leave and try to spend the rest of the day with Jack and pretend he never heard the will, saw the box, or met up with the lawyer. He'd not seen MI6 again.

"You said one thing, Shapt." Alex snapped.

"Well, one last thing, Mr. Rider, and then you can both leave."

Shapt slipped on a pair of reading glasses and as he read the document Alex saw Jack's jaw drop slowly and fought the urge to do so with his own.

"I, Ian Mark Rider," Shapt quoted, "leave the sum of fourteen million pounds (Five million dollars. Every 1 dollar in the US is 2.8 pounds in UK) to my late brother's John Rider's son, Alexander Rider. Also I leave with him the amount of money in my account with the Royal & General Bank which contains the amount of one-hundred and twenty-six thousand pounds (forty-five thousand dollars). This money is to be in Alexander's authority on the day of his eighteenth birthday. He is to do with it as he pleases, I only hope that it is in the wisest way possible."

Alex didn't know how long had passed before anyone spoke, before he or Jack _breathed. _Every ounce of rage he had felt in that one moment seemed to go out as quickly and as suddenly as blowing out a birthday candle. His stomach seemed to sink with surprise and he said the three words he first said to MI6 when they recruited him for Stormbreaker: "You're…you're joking right?"

At least the silent tension was gone now.

Shapt shook his head and down turned his lips, "Of course not. Your name is right here and Mr. Rider's signature is right at the bottom. Print and cursive." he slid the paper towards him on the desk, but before Alex could actually _see _it Jack snatched it and read the document.

"Holy--!" she put her hand on her mouth and dug her top teeth into her bottom lip. Alex could tell she was trying her best to not swear, she usually did when she was caught off guard by something. Especially something big. This was big. Really big.

"Mr. Shapt," Alex said, taking the paper from a shocked Jack, "the sum _can't _be right, I mean that's just too much. It's over ."

"Also, your uncle left a life-insurance policy of five million pounds."

Jack muffled the second curse that was about to burst.

"But--"

"He told me personally," Shapt interrupted, "that he wanted to keep you as prepared as possible once you graduated."

_Well, he sure did that. _

After a few minutes Shapt gave him the account number and password to retrieve the money whenever he needed it and told him if he wished to switch banks in the future he could do so.

Once Shapt had said that, Alex and Jack got up from their chairs and Alex said, "I think I will. I don't trust the Royal & General Bank."

Shapt nodded, but Alex could see the touch of pride in the agent's eyes that he had just hurt. Alex smiled at himself for doing so.

Jack seemed like a piece of bubble gum, inflating until she was going to burst as they walked out onto the streets, pulling their jackets tighter, February was still pretty chilly.

"So," Alex walked backwards again, "Where are--"

She popped.

"OH MY GOSH, ALEX!! I can't--you--Ian--oh my gosh!" she jumped and hugged him tightly and continued rambling on, "You're a freakin' millionaire! You have no option _but _to go to college, you can do some things and make even _more_ money! Oh my gosh, and like then in the future you could probably…"

Alex rolled his eyes and listened to her excited rambles with pleasure.

It was a day he would never forget, a day where a new life began.

* * *

Alec chuckled softly as he remembered that day clearly. He remembered the accomplishments he had been able to do once the money was in his grasp when suddenly everything seemed to be open for him, there wasn't a wall of antagonistic things blocking his way to success anymore. He could do anything now--one of the things on his list were unfortunately bribery.

That year--2010--Alex graduated from Brookland and was accepted into Oxford University--but only because he had worked weekends and throughout the summer ever since his freshman year all the way into the senior year at Oxford, barely seeing any of his friends--Tom had grown sick of it by their junior year. He wanted to be with his best friend, and Alex did too. Tom had started being a lot more…spontaneous once he'd received his License to drive--taking it to its full limit, some of which was probably not even legal. Unfortunately, Tom hadn't been able to go to the University with him though.

See, Tom Harris wasn't dumb, he knew plenty of everything. But he never fully exerted himself into his schoolwork so mainly got low grades, finally leading him to get a grade behind and graduating a year after Alex did. So when the summer came for them Alex stayed and did summer school, his rage against MI6 and sorrow for his loss empowering to get school over with--to get rid of another burden!

By the time he was twenty he was out of Oxford, majoring in business and technology and out of his home with Jack. Leaving with her the life insurance money. He loved her so much by then that when he had moved into the that was 20 minutes away from her he had felt tears brim his eyes and seen them fall from Jack's, but never did they leave his. He had never sobbed or cried since that day in the plantation when Carter had…let go.

He began working for an electronic company that produced every electronic discovered, even security systems that had been housed for the Queen's own Palace.

For a year he worked hard, placing most of his checks in the bank and increasing the amount. When he turned twenty-two he had had a simple "talk" with the president of the _Marsh Electric Company--_that included a good sum of money, a couple of martinis and a one-night stand--and he became vice-president of the company, putting even more money in his pocket than what he had spent on the thirty-year-old Miss Tina Walker--he was more than happy that she looked like a twenty-six year old than her actual age.

That was barely a year and a half ago.

_Now_, it was August of 2015, Alex was twenty-three, his money had jumped from £14,000,000 to £74,000,000, he no longer lived twenty minutes away from the old home he knew in a small rinky-dink apartment but instead in a penthouse in the West End of London. His view and sound almost every night--when he was in his house--was a distant light of rotating London Eye and the deep clanging toll of the city's beloved Big Ben and also below his penthouse he could see the ever busy streets of the Piccadilly Circus always lit and always sounding with the conversation of distant people below who never knew about the people living in the condominium that towered over them.

"Sir," Eric asked.

"Yes," Alex dropped the panel where all Eric could see was the two dark brown eyes staring at him through the rear-view mirror.

"Are we not to leave the young ladies at their houses?"

Alex gave a half grin as he looked beside him. The young woman at his side reached up and put her hand on the trim of his jaw, turning it upward and slowly placing her lips on his neck. He could feel her teeth dig into his neck gently and send growing sensations into his torso, making him squeeze the girl tighter to him and quietly moan. The lady was blonde--_white _blonde, her hair almost blinding--with blue eyes and red painted lips that left imprints on his neck and shirt collar. She was 5' 10" with long legs and a sleek figure, anyone could've taken a quick guess that the lady was a young model. And she was. Twenty years old and modeling for agencies like Elite she was bound to be found in the clubs that Alex always went to.

"Ahem," a third voice cleared their throat. It was the _other _woman on his _other _side. She was brunette with big hazel eyes that gave a dark mysterious shine, her long sleek, muscle tight limbs darkened with a beach tan that was perfect. Her grayish pink lips slipped up to his and her slim fingers went into the inside of his thigh and she pressed her chest against his bicep. She _also _was a model.

Before Alex could answer Eric, the two girls were already tugging on the sleeves of his suit jacket and the brunette was slowly intertwining into the first two buttoned buttons of his shirt, beginning to expose his smooth chest. Alex kissed her fiercely and tightened his embrace on the two girls.

"Straight to the condo," Eric chuckled, sliding up the black glass panel.

Alex chuckled as he continued to tangle his lips with the model.

It was Friday night--well technically Saturday, three in the morning. He had a usual routine on days like this, it continued throughout the weekend. Fridays after work he'd go back to the penthouse, shower, change into the best looking outfit he had and head to a club in the "New York Part of London"--that's what Tom called it. The flashes of neon lights, the loud music, the roar of several cars and high laughter. It was busy and it was fun.

Every Friday, Saturday, and sometimes Sunday nights he would head out to the clubs. Jazz clubs, dance clubs, underground clubs any of them but strip clubs. He went once, an uncomfortable experience. And almost every night that he came back from the clubs he was never alone.

He was coming back from the club "The Black Night Dream", one of his favorites but definitely not one of the best. It knew him though. Every club usually did. He would always take the VIP seating near the front or in the back near the roof. Either way he had the best.

Including women.

Over the years he had gone from his 5' 9" stature to a full 6' 4" height. Everyday he would head into the gym and work out for two hours--his main exercise the punching bag, just the repeated striking helped him get out the emotions that were still raging inside him from the last mission he'd done for MI6 and CIA. So he was pretty muscular. His hair seemed to lighter as he got older--but not drastically--and now its light brown tone had faded to dirty blonde that still looked more brown than anything. His eyes were still mysteriously and elderly hazel, aged with the information and experience he never should've received ever, period. His scars were faded now--scar cream actually works!--except for 3. The first from the bullet Scorpia had shot in him after successfully shutting down Invisible Sword, and the ones of his wrists from the chains they had put on his nine years ago. The same ones Carter--his beautiful exotic partner Cassandra--Carter--Luving--had gotten off of him.

He always kept his hair spiked, he didn't like it long anymore. Carter had told him it looked better with more length and since then he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

_Carter… _

Even as he locked lips with the brunette at his side, his mind always strayed to those foggy memories he tried so hard to forget but found it all impossible. Everyday, every moment, they prodded him, poked him, held him in their dark cold embrace. Every night seemed to be one of insomnia as the nightmares from that one moment filled his sleep and he woke up in rapid pants and sweat.

It was that one moment from nine years ago, when he and Carter had dangled from that weak electric cord--below them over forty floors that were caved in with metal, glass, toxic gases, and a fire. MI6 had supposedly kept their grip on the cord, they were supposedly pulling them out. But someone had attacked the men and made their grip slip, causing him and Carter to fall downward. But as the cord jerked to a stop Carter had slipped and gone down the rope, Alex had barely gotten her hand and was holding onto her with all his might. But by the time MI6 was pulling them up again the cord was tearing and only a few silicon strands remained. It wouldn't hold them both up…and Carter was the first to full accept it. And before Alex could stop her, before he could reach for her, hold her, she kissed his hand and said, "I love you, Alex Rider," and let go.

Every night he saw her falling down into that black pit, practically felt her slip from his grasp, heard her voice…The memory always haunted him. Always hurt him. It always felt like black thorns were raking his heart, stabbing a dagger of numbing pain into him.

Since then he lived this life. He never had one girlfriend, he never remembered their names. He didn't have a real group of friends, just Tom and himself. He tried to live "The Beautiful Life" and he was _now._ But there's always pain behind the beauty. Carter was his.

The Mercedes rolled to a stop and Alex heard the engine silence.

"Are we here?" the blonde girl, Trish, popped. Her voice didn't sound like it would belong to her, like she was just lip-synching her words. The voice sounded like it would belong to a cheerleader chewing bubblegum.

Alex heard Eric's car door open then slam shut. "Sir," Eric voice sounded as he opened the passenger door for the three.

The blonde got out first, then Alex, then the brunette. He put his arm around their shoulders and walked towards the building in front of them. Trish practically gasped as she saw it, Eowyn--the brunette--stifled her surprise. Alex thought she looked like the kind of person who had seen things like this.

Alex lived on the "rich" part of town now, no longer in the two-story house that belonged to his Uncle with Jack--technically it was hers now, according to the will--and no longer in the apartment that was twenty minutes away from that house. Instead he lived at the top of the Silver Wing, a condominium beside the Piccadilly Circus. It looked more like an expensive hotel where perhaps the King of Peru would reside rather than where several wealthy patrons did. The outside was definitely something that caught the eye and made them practically drop jaw at the sight. It stood forty-eight stories high with windows that shined in the sunlight like diamonds sparkling with direct light, it was built with cream-colored bricks that felt smooth as porcelain, there was a ledge for every floor and it was made of smooth black granite. The entrance of the Silver Wing was a lot like one of those grand hotels as well, the rain canopy extended from the door to the sidewalk, it was rounded at the top and deep crimson with letters on the front that said Silver Wing. Under the canopy there was a red trimmed carpet that stretched out as far as the canopy.

"Thank you, Eric," Alex said, ducking into the canopy and out of the dashes of sprinkling rain, the two models in both arms.

He heard the car pull away but only because it hit a puddle of water and splashed it, the engine was too quiet to actually hear.

"You live here?" Trish popped excitedly.

Alex rolled his eyes. This one could unbelievably pass for the girl Elle Woods in the movie "Legally Blonde"--more mentally than physically.

"Yes, I do," Alex said politely, _Why else would I bring you to a condominium? _

They walked into the building and Alex swore Trish was going to rip his arm off.

Inside, the whole first floor was mainly a lobby. The floor was made of black marble that was speckled with silver flecks and was always waxed to a glassy shine. There was a glass chandelier dangling from the center of the high ceiling, sparkling its reflection the walls like a thousand little gems. There was a grand ivory staircase that took a huge turn upstairs, on its rail there was a single silver vine that entwined all the way up and a leaf splayed like a knob on the direct top--but very rarely was it that the residents used the staircase, they preferred the sleek black mirror-walled elevator that was beside it. You couldn't even feel the plunge it the glass paneled lifter gave, couldn't feel it move.

In the far back of the lobby there was a long white couch with thin black pillows, two chairs with the same pillows, the whole part of the wall was a touch-screen television and to the other side there was a slide glass panel that lead to the building's pool that stretched out about forty feet in width and sixty in length.

"Good day, Mr. Rider," the man behind the desk greeted.

The condominium had a reception desk where you could pay for your condo if you rented it or what not. The receptionist, Jake, was pretty young. Eighteen at the most, he had short black brown hair and blue eyes and was pretty well-built. He usually greeted Alex as a friend and even more so when he had beautiful women around--which was most of the time.

"Hey, J," Alex said, his deep voice dark yet velvet. It made the brunette get closer to him and made him tighten his hold on her.

"Brought friends?" Jake asked, leaning over the desk, his face glowing at the sight of the women.

"Of course, this is Trish," the blonde smiled girlishly, "and Emily."

"Eowyn,"

"Eowyn," Alex quickly corrected his speech as Eowyn did.

Jake stifled his laugh. Alex rolled his eyes--he was never good at names and sometimes actually felt like telling the people who corrected him at it, or anything, "I don't care." but he never did.

"Good night, Jake," Alex said, still holding the girls and walking to the elevator.

"Good _morning _actually." Jake told him.

_I don't care! _Alex snapped in his mind.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped in. Alex pressed the top button and the elevator shot up to the fortieth floor. He lived in the penthouse at the top and absolutely loved it. It hadn't been sold at a cheap price but it was worth every penny.

The elevator door opened and Alex moved the grate that stood in as a door, sliding it up with ease.

Before he could say or do anything the girls pulled him into the penthouse and Alex smiled.

_Hmmm…the beautiful life…_

* * *

Please do review!! I would really apprecaite it. I tried to catch everyone up on Alex's life as much as possible. It's August of 2015 if you didn't catch it. The story is a sequel to my other story "A New Mission, A New Love" Thanks for reading and pleeeeeeeeeeeease do review! I could use the critic as much as possible. Thanks.  
-Millie


	2. Jack Is My Anchor

Okay, just for the people who have already read the chapter "Scarlett Letter", this is the same exact chapter except cut in half, I didn't realize just how long the chapter how long the chapter was and how so many people wouldn't want to read them because of that so here's a shorter version and the rest of it continues on in the next chapter! Thanks! -Xoxo, Millie

* * *

Ten in the morning never felt so early before in his life. Alex had a _major_ headache that was making every noise _way_ too loud and every light _way_ too bright!

_How the heck do I manage to get these hangovers when I don't even drink a lot?_

Shifting his weight, he looked down and the brunette model Emily—was it Emily? Ellie? Eowyn! That was it!—Eowyn in his arm, her dark hair splayed out and her limbs tangled in the sheets.

_Oh yeah, _he remembered, _drinks at the club and then this. Of course I get the hangovers. Sweet sacrifice…_ he didn't even laugh at the stupid remark.

He slipped his arm from under Eowyn and got out of the cushiony bed slowly, avoiding to wake up the girl. He grabbed a pair of flannel pajama pants from his dresser and put them on, and then he went through the black metal doors of his room quietly and into his house.

There was too much light from the panel window doors in his room, but there wasn't any in the rest of the penthouse.

It was a _nice _penthouse. It had taken him a while to find it, he'd gone through so many he'd been ready to give up right then and there until he found the one in the Silver Wing above Piccadilly Square. He knew it was the perfect one, being at the top floor there would never be anyone to bother him, no nosey neighbors and _definitely_ no housewarming when he first moved in. It was big, two stories of its own—everything inside was furnished though, as long as it was black or white it was fine with him. There were three televisions on the first floor, one in his living room—it was hanging on the half wall that divided the living room and his bedroom from the bathroom wedged between them—the other on the wall near the entrance of the house—it was hanging on the wall so that whoever was cooking could follow the recipe on the channel—and the third was in his bedroom, hanging right over his dresser.

The kitchen was simple, so was the living room and dining room. The only thing decorating the walls were paintings that were made of contour outlining. They tricked the eye and looked like two things at once—ironic how it could've symbolized him. There were only two visible pictures in the whole house that weren't painting, the first of him and Jack last year in the London Eye—she'd never gone in it for a torturing fear of heights so you could see the fear in her big green eyes—and the other of him and Ian mountain-climbing when he was thirteen; both were in the living room sitting on the glass coffee table.

But of course there was one more picture. But it was more of a mirror of a beautifully dark past. He rarely looked at it because it made the pain of so long ago come back and rake at his heart like a black, ragged dagger. He never put it in public; he would either shove it in his sock drawer or put it in his pocket. The picture was nine years old but it was laminated carefully so it never showed its true age, but even though it was almost a decade old Alex could practically see the images move as they took the picture.

It was the picture of Dawnsey Caine, Tyler Kingston, Jay Edwards, Ed Wallace—the four friends he had made on his last mission at the Power Point Academy in France—him and Carter…

She was so beautiful. He olive-toned skin seemed to glow whenever he looked at the picture, her black hair was pulled back and her eyes sparkle by the lighting, and her warm red lips were forming the most beautiful smile imaginable; pure beauty.

Carter—or Cassandra her real name—Luving had been a walking goddess of beauty. Her skin was toned to a perfect shade of almond that she seemed neither Hispanic nor Native American, but an odd mix that always had you wondering about her, she wasn't the skinniest thing on earth but had perhaps the most perfect figure a girl could ask for, her hair was pitch black and had hung in long waves to below her shoulders, her full lips seemed to always change from pink to red in the temperature change of cold to warm, and her eyes—oh her eyes. They had been the thing to attract Alex most, with their never-changing gray shade they seemed like jewels whenever the light shined through them. They had always looked so deep, so mystical; they had always seemed to be fiction in reality. And lastly, she was only five foot two.

But even though she had been short Carter had been the girl who would pass through the crowd and have everyone always look at her. Even when they'd see her face they'd always steal a second glance to make sure that was truly what they'd seen, not a hoax their imagination made up.

Alex slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a glass, pouring some water into it and drinking it slowly.

_Drink a coke for once, Rider! Gosh it won't kill you, I swear it won't, it doesn't even kill brain cells I mean come on look at me—shut up I know what you wanna say!_

He would always have moments like this, moments when the words echoing in his head weren't his own, moments when his mind strayed back to a memory from nine years ago and played in his mind with her beautiful velvet voice. Her voice…he always did his best to not think her name, he'd become super strict about it. Sure it was really Twilight-ish but still it helped to keep the feeling of those black thorns from stabbing into him over and over and over and over…sometimes the horrible pain was inevitable.

_Forget the past, erase the pain. _That was what he told himself constantly, but he knew he would never truly put it in perspective.

Drinking the last of the water, he put the cup in the sink and went to his living room. He sat down on the black leather couch and pulled up his legs, wrapping his arm around them and resting his chin on his knees. He sat there on the couch silently, thinking to himself about last night.

The blonde had left sometime during the night—morning, if you wanted to be technical. She was no fun, too dumb for his taste. But he couldn't really remember last night too well, it seemed foggy, blurry, kind of like a bad dream.

But a lot of people didn't think of this as a bad dream. A lot of people told him how they wished for his life, his "beautiful life". He had everything! Money, penthouse, women, everything! But there was always that numb feeling that made his everything seem like nothing. Carter was his—her voice, her memory, her touch, _her. _She had been his first love and as quickly as he had gotten her he had lost her. Lost her to that black pit that seemed to have no ending, those depths that looked like a gaping mouth ready to swallow them…but it wasn't them…it was her.

_Forget the past, ease the pain. Forget the past, ease the pain. Forget the past ease the pain…_he repeated his dumb theory in his head.

This was his usual morning after "a night on the town". This was the pain that the beginning of each new day brought. And he hated it.

"_Baby, are you down, down, down? Doooooowwn! Dooooooowwn! Even if the sky is falling down!" _

Alex reached over to the coffee table and picked up his cell phone, touching the screen and answering, not bothering to check who the person calling was.

"Rider," he wasn't much for formalities, better to just get the conversation started and over with. He wouldn't have to lie as much and he could just get on with what he was doing quicker.

"Alex!"

Alex moved his legs off the couch and got more comfortable as the voice of his wild best friend hit him quickly.

"Tom," he seemed to forgot the routine numbness right then, "finally you call!"

"Yeah, I know! Sorry about that, mate." Tom said, "Hey, I wanted to tell you that King found these new races near Greenwich and like they're running the '12 mustangs all the way from America and they've got some fast slabs and low-riders. And like they pumped up the chargers and Shelby's and they even got a slab Rousche and--"

"Whoa, Tom!" Alex interrupted, "_more _street racing?"

"Heck, yeah, more street racing!" he snapped sarcastically.

When Tom finally graduated, he and Alex had found the Midnight Races—an illegal street racing series of competitions that only the best speeders, racers, drifters, and draggers could actually get see, let alone get into. Alex had made it his guilty pleasure since he began working at _Marsh Electronics_ and had actually been able to use the skill she'd mastered at fourteen at biking behind the wheel. He was one of the most wanted racers when there. He raced in the competitions whenever the big drivers were there; most of the time he would always place first. His racer was too quick and silent for the others to hear or notice when passing them on the curves of mountains and highways.

"And it's tomorrow night in Greenwich—midnight." Tom continued, "All the big drivers are coming. Freeman, Johnson, Daeni, even Block's gonna be there."

Alex stiffened; his insides were beginning to get both curious and pulled toward the new series Midnight Races made.

Stan Block was exactly what his last name was—a stubborn, _stupid, _block! Ever since the first time Alex had raced in the Midnight Races, Block had been his main competition—what with his cocky attitude and big mouth Alex simply couldn't resist. And almost every time he raced that dumb idiot he won. Barely. Block was good. But Alex was better. And Block got on his nerves.

Alex thought for a moment. A new series of races…new drivers, new streets…a series that possibly didn't know who Block was—or him by that fact—or possibly did…to beat him in front of a new audience would be a thrill drive.

"When is it again?" he asked.

"Ye-es!" Tom split the word into two syllables, "tomorrow night—_midnight!" _he finished his sentence in the lamest sing-song voice that Alex had ever heard but also the lamest sing-song voice that separated Tom from the others in a good way and also made him his best friend.

"How are we getting there? If it's in Greenwich it'll be pretty far—"

"Ah, ah, ah, _by car_. But—drum roll please—it's faster _by jet_."

Alex could practically hear the smile on Tom's face and see that stupid face he always made when he wanted something that was big. He rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Tom—"

"You are the awesomest person in the world!! And if you weren't already a freakin' millionaire I'd say I'd give you a million dollars—"

"—and not give it to me."

"Exactly! You are my kind of friend."

"Sure, sure," Alex chuckled.

Tom said something else but it was suddenly drowned out by some loud noise Alex couldn't identify. It sounded like a chainsaw and a blow torch mixed together with the frantic yelling of a different language.

"Tom?"

Alex realized the frantic yelling was Tom, but it wasn't another language, it was him freaking out. Then it seemed Tom was talking to him but he was still yelling.

"Tom!" Alex repeated, still Tom was yelling over the roaring sound and he sounded even more frustrated than before.

"TOM!" Alex yelled, he shut up when he heard a disturbed groan come from his room. Eowyn must've been waking up.

"—Yeah?" Tom could finally hear as the noise died down.

"What's all the noise about?" Alex asked, moving from the living room to the dining room.

"The noise?" Tom repeated, Alex could hear it fading from the background, Tom must be moving too, "Oh, yeah, sorry about that, mate, I brought my car over to Blackstill and like his guys are working on it but they freakin' jacked up the engine and I told Blackstill to tell them to fix it and they started messing with the water valves and belts! I swear, mate, they're Chinese you'd think that since they invented Toyota they would know how to handle a pimped out Chevelle."

"Japanese," Alex put his legs on the table as he slid into the tall wooden chair.

"Jap—what?"

"The Japanese made Toyota, not Chinese."

"I honestly don't care and either way, they're squinch eyed and black haired."

"Like you?"

"Actually no I took out the black, it's red now. And no before you say it it's not freakin' Opey Taylor red! It's a bright red with these black tips."

"Of course, only you would worry about your hair like a girl and have it turn out like a clown's for Halloween."

"Whatever!"

"Hey, babe," Eowyn's seductive voice entered into the dining room spontaneously, making Alex jump in surprise.

She was leaning against the wall dressed in the black lace lingerie Alex remembered tearing off only a few hours ago. He could tell she had just woken. But for just waking up, _dang _was she sexy!

"Eow-Eo-Eowyn," Alex stuttered. Had she heard the conversation? No one know about the street racing and he didn't want some chick he'd met not even twenty-four hours ago to know, she'd probably leak to the cops. He could probably bribe his way out if she did…but bribing an officer was pretty hard. He already had planned what to do if she squealed before she even got over to him.

As if she could read his mind Eowyn came over to where he was, shoved his legs off the table and swung one of her own on one side and the other side on the other side of him, sitting directly on his lap. She wrapped her arms her arms around his neck and tossed her hair. Whispering softly into his ear, "Don't worry, I won't tell. No bribing me necessary either." She smiled trickily.

"Who was _that_?" Tom asked.

"Uhm…" _a ho apparently, _"a friend." Alex told him, expecting Eowyn to get upset or offended. Instead she got even closer, wrapping her legs harder around his thighs and bringing her mouth to brush his.

"A friend with benefits." She said directly into the phone.

"Dang! She sounds f-oine! Is she, mate? Come on, you met her last night? What's she like in…" the phone slipped from in between Alex's shoulder and his ear and fell to the ground. He put his hand at the back of Eowyn's neck and the other on the small of her bare smooth back, kissing her fiercely. She leaned her head back and he ran his lips near her ear, down the side of her neck and to her collarbone. She moaned, her fingers tightening on his shoulders and pressing herself closer to him.

"Ahem." Someone cleared her throat.

Alex and Eowyn's head snapped up to see a red-headed American stand in front of the dining room table with her hands on her hips and her green eyes set in a frown.

"Alex," Jack said his name sourly.

"I…" he tried to begin his sentence to his past-keeper, "I-I didn't even hear you come in…"

"Mmm-hmmm, I can understand why."

Eowyn bit her lip and got off his lap, practically running back to his bedroom and not taking a second glance at Jack, feeling like a couple of sixteen-year-olds caught in his room by his mother while "doing it". Alex couldn't avoid the feeling as Jack stared him down. Eowyn was back in less than a minute with her tight black dress on, the straps carelessly falling on her shoulders and her black stilettos in her hand.

"Eo--" Alex started.

She smiled at him again and tossed her hair, "Don't worry, I know your type. I _won't _be expecting a call." With that she went to the elevator and left.

Dang. He'd actually liked her.

As if to remind him that she was there Jack cleared her throat again and tapped her foot.

"What?" he said, getting up and sounding much like the careless sixteen year-old Jack seemed to be staring at him as even though he was twenty-three, "She was hot."

"_Another _one night stand?" she asked, following him into the kitchen.

"Again I say, she was hot." He reached into the cupboard and got a cup, setting it in from of Jack as she sat in the barstool beside the kitchen bar.

"Alex, _come on!_ Are you kidding me?!"

He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of orange juice, "Well…not exactly." He poured the juice into the cup, "It wasn't a _full _night just a couple of—"

"Okay, ew! Grody!" Jack grumbled.

"Yeah, you caught me at a pretty bad time. Well not _technically _a bad time actually a pretty—"

"Stop! Gosh, Alex I so do not want to hear about your love life, especially not at ten in the morning."

He laughed, "Well, I thought you would considering you're limited to one!" he ended his sentence in sing-song. He and Tom had been hanging out too long over the week.

"And I'm happy with my one." Jack smiled, "Greg and me are perfectly happy."

Alex leaned on the bar, "You should be, it's been three years since you got married and you haven't killed him yet."

She shoved his shoulders, "Whatever."

"How is he anyway? I haven't been to your house in a while."

"Four months to be exact." She smiled, "He's fine. Been working a lot, the economy isn't all too good right now and his company is thinking about calling it quits."

He would've said, "I know," because he did. But considering where they were talking right now it would probably sound totally dishonest.

"How're the kids?" he went back to the sink to get his cup and filled it with water again.

When he was seventeen, Jack had been dating this art guy from downtown London, to her liking she had found him to be the one man "in this country that isn't gay or married". They were married in December—outside in the freezing cold!—and Alex was one of the groom's men. But Jack—being stubborn and hard-headed and Jack—didn't want to leave that old home Alex had grown up in and she practically had too throughout her twenties, so—much to his disliking of not being able to give his bride a new home—Greg moved in with _her. _But it worked out fine.

Not even a year after they were married they found out Jack was pregnant. She had twins in February just days after Alex's own birthday and their names Ella Jewel Harrison and Eric Jeremy Harrison. Jack wanted their initials to match as long as they were children. Paternal twins that made Alex's heart absolutely met. Ella had so much of jack in her, her reddish hair always flying behind her as she ran and her little pouty mouth always in a smile as in him as well as Jack; most of the time the curly, red-headed boy nwas quiet, never running around and always quiet. Except at naptime, that was when his Jack-side kicked in.

"They're good," Jack told him, "Ella's asking about you all the freakin' time."

"Really?" he loved that little girl the most. He would give up just about anything for that little girl, even the world!

"Yeah! Everyday all I hear is 'Alex? Alex? Alex?' I swear she loves you so much."

"She's a button,"

"Eric asked about you too but not as much."

"I'll tell you who's getting their car first." He teased, drinking his water.

"Ha-ha, fun-ny, remember—buy for one, buy for each. It's a rule me and Greg have had to learn painfully, especially when we hit the Toys R' Us, oh God." She rolled her eyes.

"I'll make 'em learn to love the old classics," he laughed, "Where are they now?"

"With the sitter; Cindy asked to work today for the money and I guessed it would give me some time to visit you." She smiled, "I was just wondering—I already bought the tickets so you pretty much have to say yes—if you wanna catch a movie? It's _Scarlett Letter_!" she smiled broadly at the end. Reaching into her purse and taking out the tickets, waving them in his face. He snatched them, for being 38 Jack still acted and begged like a fifteen-year-old.

"What time does it start?" he asked, looking for the time on the ticket.

"One thirty," she popped before he could find it and snatched the tickets back.

"Alright," he stretched, "I didn't have plans for today—even if I did I have a feeling they'd be out the window and run over by your car."

She smiled, "Love you. Now go get dressed, take a shower and get ready because I really, really, _really _want to watch it!"

"In that order?" Alex threw behind him as she shoved him in the bathroom.

"No you smart-aleck!" she laughed, "Just hurry!"

Alex chuckled to himself as he closed the door to the bathroom and locked it silently. He loved Jack _so_ much. Even though he had the beautiful life Jack was the only thing that was really letting him see that he had _had _a real life…ten years ago. She was practically his guardian angel—his pushy, stubborn, loud, and bubbly guardian angel—then and now. When Carter had died the only way he had even been able to wake up every day was because of her, she was the reason why he even wanted to see the next day. Her, Ella and Eric. Jack and her Family were his anchor.

Alex sighed as he looked into the mirror. Taking a rag from the hook beside the mirror he ran some water through it and let it soak through. He took it in his hand and wiped it gently under his eyes. The dark circles he always hid under the extremely pale concealer seemed to almost burst from his face, they were so dark he could've been Edward Cullen from Twilight.

A loud mix of rock music, then a switch to rap, to jazz, to country, then back to rock disrupted his thought. He rolled his eyes. Jack was messing with his sound system again.

Humming along to the music Jack was turning up—he recognized it as "Heels Over Head" by Boys Like Girls—Alex slipped into the shower. A day with Jack and almost three hours of _Scarlett Letter _would be a _long_ day.

* * *

**Please comment!!! Reviews are greatly appreciated!!! **

**Yeah I know about the whole song deal with all of them being from like now but I mean music is flavor to everything and I hope you guys don't mind, as a musician I love background music and I love these songs. Please tell me if you don't want any songs or not. Thanks! **

**-Xoxo, Millie**


	3. The Scarlett Letter

Lincoln J. Waters—highly respected, rich, tall, handsome. His dark skin always seemed strangely smooth with its night-like tone, his severe dark eyes were always something no one ever looked at directly, it made them nervous and sometimes frightened, and his bald head seemed like a mirror in the light—but no one told him that, not unless they wanted to lose their job. His nice suits were always making an impression with the board and his wallet was always full, but not more than that young, stupid competitor from the other side of town. (In case you're wondering just picture him like Tyrese Gibson in suit...Sigh...)

That little whelp made _Marsh Electronics _three times than his own company made last year and he was only the vice-president. Waters had worked hard for eight years to gain his rank as President and now just to keep it he was working holidays and weekends, hardly seeing his two little girls and wife. Now the fact that there was a major competition the role was threatened.

_Stupid little whelp, _he repeated in his mind, _only twenty-three years old—ha! He's still a kid. _He put three ices cubes in a small crystal glass and poured whickey into it, the golden liquid making them crackle with the sudden lukewarm drink. _Just a few more sales to at least get to their sales ranks, maybe in a few months we can pass the, that is if that Rider kid doesn't pull anything to boost their numbers in those months. _

Suddenly two knocks came from the wooden door at the entrance of his office.

"Come in," he said, sitting down into his chair and placing the glass of whiskey on a tile coaster with the initials L. W. engraved on it.

"Mr. Waters,"

Waters recognized the voice immediately as his lovely—not to mention sexy—Secretary Nina Brim. She smiled sweetly, her white teeth bright and straight as she walked into the room, twitching in her tight gray dress that complemented both her figure and skin tone. Her dark red hair was hanging lazily on her shoulders in gorgeous waves that seemed almost like silk spirals.

"Nina," he didn't expect his response to come so blunt, it sounded rude.

She placed the papers in her hands onto the desk and placed her small hands on her hips. "Bad day?" she asked. Her voice was high-pitched but not annoying, it was something that you would want to hear on a bad day…which was today.

"Yes."

"That Vice from _Marsh Electronics_?" she guessed.

He nodded, drinking more of the whiskey.

"He's only doing his job. As like you." She smiled, "Now, your wife bought you that massager for your birthday and you haven't even plugged it in once."

"Nina, I haven't—"

"The time?" she interrupted, "Yes, you do. Now here—" she quickly went to the door and locked it, "No one is going to interrupt your massage." She picked up his phone and left it off the hook. "Understood? Having a bad day means you need a good remedy." She smiled sweetly again.

He smiled back, "Thank you, Nina, but really I don't think I have the time to spare."

"Blah, blah, blah!" she rolled her eyes playfully, "Just hush and let me do the work."

She went to the back of his desk and plugged the black massager's cord into the wall. "Now lean forward a little bit." She turned it on and the machine vibrated like a growling monster in her hands. "Gosh this thing's going to fly out of my hand." She placed it on low, it didn't roar as much, "There we go! Now relax…"

Nina placed the massager on his shoulders and Waters closed his eyes. Slowly he could feel the vibrating movement take out the tension in his shoulder and as she went further down his back he hadn't realized just how much this kid had put on his.

"Now," she talked while the machine went on, "you don't need to worry so much about this. I mean, come on, the company's not going to fire you. Your vice is—I'm sorry to say—sorry. Peters couldn't do anything without breaking anything in the process."

He laughed numbly, "I know. I'm not sure how he's been able to get to that rank."

"Exactly, so you have nothing to worry about." Her voice seemed to gasp at the end of her sentence.

That was odd. He turned his head to her, "Are you okay, Nina?"

"Perfect." She told him, turning his head, "Why do you ask?"

"Just the way you sound."

"Getting a cold,"

"Oh, okay,"

For ten minutes Nina let the machine massage Waters. Slowly the tension in his back and shoulders and neck seemed to have gone.

As she turned off the machine he turned his chair to her and smiled, "Thank you, Nina, you've got to be one of the most considerate secretaries I've ever had."

She unplugged the massager and placed it on the shelf. As she lowered her hands he noticed they were shaking.

"Nina? Nina, honey, are you okay?" he got up from his chair and took her shoulders. She was looking down at the floor. He didn't notice the one hand she held behind her back.

"Please don't say that, Mr. Waters…please," she whispered. Suddenly her voice was wavering, "I'm not…I can't be…"

"Nina, what—?"

"I'm sorry, Waters," she gasped and plunged her hand toward his abdominal.

The movement was so quick he only saw a glint of the silver dagger she held before it was in his abs and her face was up to his. It seemed like his oxygen had been cut off, the sounds in the room had disappeared, slowly everything was losing its color, and the only bright thing he could see now was Nina's hair. He felt himself fall back into the chair slowly, like he was falling down a whole in slow motion. Limply his eyes went down to his stomach and all he saw was a dark liquid oozing out of him, the black hilt of a dagger sticking out of his white red-stained shirt.

"Ni…" he looked up at his "lovely" secretary and started to say her name, but only his last breath came out and his head fell back against the top of the leather chair. Waters was dead.

Nina swallowed hard, her throat felt like it was closing up tightly and her hands were shaking so hard now she seemed to be having an earthquake inside of her. She looked at her hands and already she saw how they were stained with the warm blood that wasn't hers. Not restraining her small gasp for air, she fell onto the floor, her legs buckling from under her. She put her right hand to her mouth as she sat by the dead president, with the other she reached over to his abs and wrapped her red fingers on the hilt. She pulled out the dagger and as she did the blood from inside of him seemed to spurt out, she felt it splatter drops on her face and some on her lips. She closed her eyes and inhaled heavily. _I'm sorry…I'm sorry…_she repeated over and over in her mind.

Pulling out the drawer at the bottom of his desk Nina pulled out a blank sheet of paper, her remorse flooding her inside as she did so. She reached into her bra and pulled out an old fountain pen, so old it was probably used back in the forties or so. Closing her eyes tightly she pointed the dripping dagger above the pen; a scurry of blood began oozing down the shining blade and into the little hole that held the ink for the pen. Slowly she brought the pen to the paper, the crimson life already spread across her hand.

Her tears blurred her vision as she wrote on the paper, small splatters of the blood spattered on the page. This was always the hardest part for her, writing the letter in the scarlet ink that seemed to put even more blood on her hands.

Elegantly she wrote the letter, her tears made another form of ink that landed on the page. _The assassin crying, _she thought, _yeah…only me. _The girl—whose name wasn't Nina, whose occupation had and would never be a secretary and whose hair was nowhere near red—finished her letter and tried to trample away the rising thorns of her present murder. Slowly, blindly, painfully the thorns were killing her.

* * *

For a movie that started at one thirty, Alex was still trying to figure out how thr time was 8:45 right then, when Jack and he were getting home.

"…and oh! Remember that part where she was being all sneaky because Thomas was coming?! Oh my gosh I was so nervous!" Jack had been rambling on about the movie ever since they left the theater at six.

"Yeah I noticed that considering you were going all boa constrictor with my hand!" Alex was still flexing his fingers from where Jack had squeezed them so hard because of the suspense.

"Oh, shut up!" she threw at him as she bounced into his living room.

Apparently when Jack had thought she'd gotten the one thirty showing of the _Scarlett Letter _she'd accidentally gotten the three o'clock one so for a full hour-and-a-half they walked around the entire block of the theater, not bothering to get Eric to drive them. They talked the entire time, some of which was a chastisement about "too many strangers tangled in your sheets", Alex didn't really pay attention to that part. It only reminded him at how much he desperately wished all those strangers were Carter.

Almost late to the movie they had ran in and bought hot popcorn and drinks—Jack getting the biggest cup available. She was almost down with it by the middle of the movie.

The movie wasn't too bad, Alex thought it was just going to be a bunch of lubby-dubby romance nonsense, he wasn't up for that….he hadn't been for the past nine years. It had a bunch of it but it was more suspense. The heroine was just trying to find the guy who had killed her fiancé over two years ago without letting her current boyfriend know that she was still obsessing over his death. All through the movie she was searching for hints, truth, evidence, she was searching for something other than just "Ma'am he died in a terrible car accident."

Ironically, the movie portrayed a lot of his past life, strongly it portrayed it. She discovered her fiancé hadn't died in a car accident, hadn't even died at all but was instead being held hostage by some drug lords. She had found him in the prison they held him; she had held him, kissed him, apologized for taking so long. He always looked at her with eyes that were only filled with eyes of pure love. Turned out Thomas—her current boyfriend—was the one that was still holding him prisoner; he was the leader of the drug lords. Towards the ending of the movie the girl and her old love were escaping but there was only one way to go and unfortunately if they both went that way they could've ended up dying. So he pushed her into their safety net, she screamed as she left further and further away from him. Her cries of agony, of searching for so long and finding it to have all been for nothing, sickened Alex's heart. As she yelled he lied to Jack and told her he had to go to the bathroom. So he left and sat in the little benches in there. He needed to breathe. _Five minutes, _he had thought, _that's all I have. _Depending on the time to not make him look suspicious had turned out to be a talent that was always useful. He was back for the last fifteen minutes of the movie. The heroine was being interviewed by a reporter for CNN, practically interrogated at how she had just solved one of the biggest drug busts in history. As the reporter as her questions Alex noticed her eyes always looked like they were missing something, like there was a hole. She looked dazed, distant, and not even truly alive. The movie ended with her sitting in front of the president, his own eyes looking her over strangely like she was some kind of ghost as he asked her the exact same question everyone else asked her, "So, Michelle, how do you feel now about your discovery? This is probably the—"

"Largest drug bust ever," She had finished for him, "Mr. President, I know. I'm sorry to interrupt you but I've heard this question so many times before and honestly, I've never truly answered them the way I wanted to."

The president had straightened in his seat and listened carefully as she said her last words, the words that would finalize the movie.

"The only feeling…" she never looked him in the eyes, she rubbed her hands together, fingered the ring on her hand, "that I have about discovering this…about solving this…is regret." Her voice barely cracked at the end as she took in a shattered breath, "Two years ago, a man very close to me was taken away. Everyone had told me he had died in a fatal car accident and even at the funeral—which was open-casket—there was a casket with his body. Something in me had told me it wasn't him, even dead I would've been able to know this was _not_ the man I knew. And I became obsessive over his death. Even so I came into knowledge with another man, who made me feel safe just like the other…" she took off the ring that was on her finger. The movie had taken a flashback scene of the fiancé throwing her into the safety net that was supposed to take them both then back to the present moment of her in front of the president, "I feel regret for this because I trusted a total stranger, I feel regret because I discovered something that was pushed under the rug, something I shouldn't have ever even stumbled upon, I feel regret because now I realize just how many hidden things in the world there are…" the scene flashed to where the man had kissed her then stared at her go, her screaming face was in the screen but her voice was muted, "The things that are not of our own, should never be ours…and we need to realize that what we go traipsing off for will only hurt us like a fire set on our clothes, except there's not water to put it out." Suddenly the scene flashed back to the mountain that everything had happened, down in the snow something had wiggled, the snow had started breaking, "even if it's a true love…" the ice broke more now, "if they've slipped away from us we should go searching for it…my mind understands that now…" out of the snow burst a burnt hand, then an arm and a shoulder, a head came out from the stinging cold and suddenly everyone in the theater realized that it was the face of the fiancé, "…my heart comprehends it even more." The girl shook hands with the president and the fiancé rolled out onto the snow and breathed heavily. The movie ended with her walking away and zooming up on her big blue eyes as she held onto the ring tightly. Something in her told her something was wrong…something wrong was right. The movie ended.

Irony and something else was twisting in Alex's stomach by the time the credits popped up. When Jack went to the bathroom he had felt like he was going to hurl. He never knew any kind of entertainment production could kill him inside as much as this one had. It was as if someone had gone through his mind and taking his Uncle Ian's death and mixed it with Carter's own nine years ago. Before Jack could see him doubled over and feeling like he was about to drift into two pieces he straightened himself and pretended to be okay. Jack had wanted to spend a good day with, most of it was over so he had might has well pretend to be good the rest of the day.

After the stupid movie they had gone out to eat, by the time they were finished it was six thirty, they hadn't realized how bad traffic was that day until they were sitting in the car for two full hours and finally now they were at home, Jack rambling about her favorite parts the movie and Alex jumping on the couch and lazily spreading out on it.

"And then when she was like all 'Oh my gosh, Thomas, I was for certain'—is it that late?" she interrupted herself abruptly.

"Yeah, my clocks are all up to date." Alex retorted.

"Crap! Let me call Cindy and see if she can sit for another hour," Jack frantically dug in her small purse and pulled out her cell phone. Quickly she was dialing and pacing around his living room.

Tired, Alex reached for the remote and flipped on the television. Jack always took a while when talking so he might as well be entertained while she was on the phone. He flipped through his channels without really paying attention to what he was watching, cartoons flipped by, as well as old westerns, operas, MTV, CNN, and CSI: Miami. _Crap…crap…crap…crap…crap…_After about two minutes of pure flipping he was ready to just put the remote down. Nothing good was on.

"…I know I said eight thirty but we just got home." Alex could hear Jack in the kitchen, she was sitting on the barstool and twisting in it so there was that unbearable squeaky noise, "I know…I know…I'm sorry, Cindy, look if you stay another hour I'll pay you two more hours worth of sitting…"

The squeaking was getting on Alex's nerves; he turned up the TV as he flipped back to CNN. On the screen was the same old reporter, Alexandria Dowell, with her strange blonde hair and bright blue eyes and penetrating red lips. She looked fake; seriously, fake.

"…police are saying that thirty-nine year-old Lincoln Jeremiah Waters was found dead on the spot today around three thirty." _Waters…_the name sounded familiar, it was on the tip of his tongue but he didn't know why it would even be there, "The body was found when his secretary Nina Fischer entered inside to give him some paperwork and found his abdominal mutilated and blood on the floor. Authorities are saying that there is a slight chance that it was suicide, but the evidence in the office is making them lean towards murder…"

"Okay I got it all taken care of," Jack said, sliding onto the couch and shoving Alex's overly long legs off. He swung upright with the movement and didn't take his eyes off the television, "Of course now I have to pay her for three more hours, ugh. I swear for one more hour that chick _freaks out_! Of course she's just sixteen so that might have something to do with it. Are you even listening to me?"

"Uh-huh," Alex mumbled, his eyes glued to the fake-looking-blonde.

"What did I just say?" Jack scolded, leaning back on the white couch.

"Cindy's being stupid and wants to be paid for three extra hours when she's only sitting for one extra and she freaks out for only one hour and she's probably just doing it 'cause she's sixteen." Alex recited in monotone, his eyes still sucked into the murder story.

"Smarty," Jack grumbled and was quiet for a moment. For a moment she listened to the story but then belted, "Why are we watching this?"

"Because I want to."

"It's so boring."

"It's real life."

"So it's sad."

"I guess."

"…currently the murder weapon has not been discovered, no fingerprints have been found and there is no evidence that a person was in there before Fischer went in and found him. The only evidence that there is—though it's not much—is this piece of stationary paper found only minutes ago on the inside of Waters' shirt."

A dazzling white slip of paper filled the screen, red ink was written on it and splatters of it were practically everywhere.

"Sad…"

"Shut up and listen."

"So far the handwriting has been identified as female and the ink as the victim's blood, but the smeared gray splatters are still to be identified—"

Alex pressed pause on his DVR and zoomed up on the letter.

"Sicko, what kind of person would seriously write in someone else's blood—bleh."

Carefully, Alex read the letter, trying to decipher as much from it as possible, the writing seemed so scribbled it was hard to read, but not impossible.

**Here lies a businessman in his little tacky suit, **

**a shiny mirror head I could fix my lipstick in **

**and a blood drenched shirt that holds my note to you!**

**Here lays not my first victim, not by second, not my third—perhaps the eight to be true. M**

**y killings are quick and painless and blind for you to see.**

**Hope you actually figure out a puzzle and try to stop me. **

**If not…oh well. My masters who sting like scorpions will make sure he isn't the last. **

**--Black Rose**

"…this killing spree has been one of the highest marks since 2006 when a similar murderer 'Black _Magician'_ began killing the businessmen of high ranks. The murderer was never found but instead proclaimed dead by the director of the Special Operation MI6, Alan—"

Alex shut off the television quickly.

"Dang!" Jack shouted, "He was just killed in cold blood like that! That's sad! I can't believe some idiot would actually kill a guy just so that…well it didn't even say why they killed him but still that stupid."

_I could fix my lipstick in…_Alex thought over, _my masters who sting like scorpions…_

He shook his head. Not now. He wasn't apart of MI6 anymore and if Scorpia was really behind this once again he didn't want to deal with it. No more.

Jack turned the TV back on.

Alex barely heard it as he tried to think. So Scorpia got another assassin, someone to replace Carter with. Bastards.

"Hey, look at what the case is called now…" Jack told him.

Alex looked up at the television and in bright white letters saw the word, "The Scarlet Letter Spree."

Ironic…Life was ironic…well…at least his.

* * *

**Reviews are appreciated!!!!!!! **

**Lol, now the new chapters will begin, sorry about that just really wanting to keep my readers!!!**

**Xoxo, Millie**


	4. Black Snake Tournament

"Will you hurry up?!" Tom yelled on the other side of the door, "You are taking as long as my girlfriend Rose!"

Alex rolled his eyes as he gelled his hair and slipped on his suit jacket. Sunday night at the Midnight Races was obviously something that Tom had been waiting on for a while.

"Rose?" Alex questioned, "I thought her name was Mary…?"

"No, that's the blonde with the butterfly on her back, the other one---the brunette." Tom corrected.

"I thought that was Heather…?"

"No, Heather was the red-head from three weeks ago."

"Oh, you mean the control-freak-mein-fehr-red-head?"

"Yeah that one."

"Then who's Rose?"

"I'm dating Rose and Mary, Heather was just a one-date-get-out-of-my-house-chick."

"_Oh! _Ok…" He straightened his jacket, "I do not take as much time as a girl!"

"You're right--you take longer, come on!" Tom banged his fist on the door.

Alex opened the door quickly, "Chill out!" he told him.

"I ca-a-an't!" Tom bounced in his place, "it's gonna start in like three hours!"

"Yeah and it only takes about one hour to get there by jet, we'll be two hours early."

"Yeah, but I wanna make sure my baby's juiced up enough for the race." he kept bouncing. Right then Tom reminded Alex of a five year old begging to get a cookie out of the jar because they really, really wanted it. "Come o-o-on!"

Alex huffed, "Alright let's go."

"YES!"

Tom was out of the door before Alex even made it to the living room.

"Three…" Alex counted as he walked to the elevator, "two…" he knew Tom too well, he knew that he'd be back, because first of all, "one."

Tom's head popped back into the house, "Where exactly is the jet?"

He hadn't told him where the jet was.

"Think for once, mate," Alex chuckled, "up on the roof, we'll have to take the stairs."

"That stairs?! Why?"

"Because, _lazy_, the elevator goes up to my floor and that's it, to go to the roof you have to take the stairs."

Tom rolled his eyes, "Who thought of that?"

"The architect."

"Sarcasm, Alex."

"Sarcasm, Tom."

Tom stifled his laugh and went to the staircase.

Since it was only one floor up they were there pretty quick, as they opened the door the smooth roar of the black and silver jet's engine greeted them like a salutation. Alex could see the pilot waiting impatiently in the cock pit.

"Is it new?" Tom asked. The last one his best friend had had was dark blue and white and not quite as small or sleek looking from the outside.

"Mmm-hmm," Alex nodded, "got it last Thursday, traded the old one and paid the difference which was just like a dozen or so thousand."

"It's amazing how easily you can say that price," Tom said loudly as they walked toward the stairs descending from the plane.

"It's amazing how much I hate being able to say that price." he told him bluntly. He severely did.

Tom looked at him oddly, like he was inspecting him. Alex knew that look, once they were comfortable in the jet the questions would begin and Alex would give his all time answer that he must've given about a thousand times in the last nine years, "I'm Fine."

Tom raced up the stairs and bounced into the jet before Alex. Alex took the staircase normally and was there about two seconds later after Tom. As he pressed a bright green button beside the door, the stairs straightened out to a smooth ramp and then quickly shifted into the side of the jet, the door closed and hissed as the stairs shifted and the spring of lock was deep once it was tightly closed.

"I have to say," Tom started, looking around the jet, "I'm seriously liking the new."

"Considering your new 'do." Alex said, walking over to the mini bar near the cockpit and pulling out a beer.

Tom crossed his arms, "It looks fine."

Alex quietly chuckled. He was still finding Tom's bright red hair with their black tips hard to take in. He looked like that old cartoon character off that series…what was it called? Yu-gi…Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's there it was! He was looked like that character Crow.

"Did you get a new piercing too?" Alex asked as he tossed the bottle over to Tom, who was comfortably situated in one of the jet's cream leather seats near the window.

Tom nodded as he drank the alcohol. "Yeah," he strained, holding back a burp, "just on my cartilage though." He turned his head and Alex could see the silver loop dangling from the top of his ear.

He shuddered, uncapping a bottle of water for himself.

"It didn't hurt." Tom went on, "But I think it was mainly because the chick who did it was--woo! Hahahaha!"

Alex laughed, "Only you."

It got quiet as Tom's outrageous laugh died out.

For a moment, Alex kind of wished it had stayed that way. After Tom's question he really wished that it could've happened!

"How are you holding up, mate?" Tom asked. Alex seemed to stare into oblivion as he drank the water, "Have they contacted you again?"

"You say again like they've done it several times since 2006."

"Just curious."

Alex exhaled. He could trust Tom. He wouldn't tell him he was idiotic for thinking about nine years ago nonstop lately, he wouldn't judge him about it.

"They haven't." he told him, "Neither have the others."--Scorpia--"They left me alone. But they obviously didn't wait to replace their assassin."

"What'd you mean?"

"They have some new assassin pillaging downtown at all the major companies. Four presidents are dead, three secretaries were found dead at their desks and one vice-president was killed just a few weeks ago."

Alex was still staring at the wall but he could tell out of the corner of his eye that Tom was fingering the dark glass bottle now. Uncomfortable. Alex's past life still alive was still sort of frightening towards his best friend but he always took it by the horns anyway.

"They're freaking idiots." Tom accused, clearing his throat and taking another drink.

"You think?" Alex smarted, "Stupid idiots actually thought they could replace her. You know, she was so good at that that no one could even find out the assassin was female. Now this--this new one is just practically leaving tracks. Like she wants to cops to catch her or something." Alex gripped at the bottle tightly.

"Well," Tom raised his bottle, "to that new assassin--" Alex threw him a look of disbelief--"before you say anything," Tom went on, "to the new assassin that she may be fired and let the idiots bugs know that they can never replace something good that they once had."

Alex smiled a little, "Something _amazing _that they once had." he raised his glass and silently the toast was made.

* * *

"_GET OUT OF THE WAY_!"

Alex moved toward the wall and let one roaring yellow Ford Challenger with an equally roaring driver pass him with a fury.

"Tom, this is ridiculous!" he told his friend, who was right beside him and staying as close to the wall as Alex was. People were shoving their way into the Midnight Races and into their cars. There were several young men sitting on the hoods of their cars, they all looked no younger than sixteen. Lucky for him, Alex was able to pass for a nineteen-year-old-himself.

"I know it is!" Tom snapped, he obviously hadn't been expecting such a rough crowd. There was so much pushing and shoving and yelling and madness that it was seriously not fun anymore.

"We gotta hurry, it's almost midnight." Tom said shoving through the crowd and Alex right behind him.

"Honestly, I'd like to just leave." Alex said, squeezing past a couple of girls wearing tube tops and mini skirts.

"Honestly, I do too but I want to know exactly why so many people are here for this race."

Alex rolled his eyes, "Ever heard of curiosity killed the cat?"

"I am not a cat--come on!"

Alex looked at the dark cement walls, there was so much graffiti on them you could barely tell they were cement if you were depending on the color. Signs of almost every gang Alex had heard about were drawn in spray paint in bold colors of green, red, blue, yellow, and white. The floors were cracked and also cement, the air inside seemed about seven or eight degrees colder than outside and the lights that were illuminating the place were dim white and gave it a serious illegal look--ironic, it was illegal anyway.

When the plane landed in the Greenwich, Alex and Tom simply did what Tom had found out. They'd been able to single out a man sitting on a bench near the street with a red X on the arm of his leather jacket and had known immediately he was part of the Midnight Races. It was their logo. Telling him who they were and the code Tom had been given they were given simple directions to the outskirts of Greenwich and to an abandoned warehouse. Walking into it, they took three steps and four burly humongous men came at them, the same red X on the front of their tight black tank tops. They asked them their names and who sent them. They answered honestly and went into the warehouse. First it seemed that they were just going to walk out but then they went down a staircase neither of them had noticed. About half a mile into the ground they came to the first floor and walked forward for about twenty minutes before going uphill and coming into a parking lot that seemed to belong to an old building beside it. Before they even actually saw it there was such a sea of people it was like an explosion had just taken place and scattered several of them everywhere. Shoving and pushing and yelling wasn't exactly the easiest way to get in…it seemed like the natural thing. As they continued down Alex noticed that there were numbers on every wall and Tom told him that the person who'd told him about the new series told them to sit in section thirteen. So right then that's what they were looking for.

"Tom, what's that number?" he asked, pointing at a smudged white number on the wall beside them.

"It kind of looks like 11. Let's go down two more and find our section.

They passed two more walls and found thirteen. Quickly walking down the hall that led into the section, Alex could gradually hear the loud yells of several more people. When they walked into the section Alex saw that all it really was was just people standing where they could and the ones comfortable were the one in the small boxed in areas near the back, which were elevated to let the people see better than the rest. Then there was a road that led out of where all the twenty-seven sections conjoined and into a dark oblivion.

"Three minutes," Tom said loudly, "Let's get to our box."

"Wait!" Alex said grabbing his arm.

"What?"

"Let's just stand in with the crowd. I seriously hate being the one who's all special and gets to sit in a box."

Tom shrugged, "Alright, but let's get to the front."

Trying to avoid nasty gazes some people gave, they made their way to the front of the crowd. It was like a perfect boundary people had made for the cars that were being towed in an eighteen-wheeler.

"So how's this going to work?" Alex asked.

Tom ran his hand through his red hair, "Um…well, if I got it right, the head of the series chooses five drivers by bringing out their cars and then he announces their name. If you win you get the choice of going onto the next race or saving your spot for the next time."

"What'd you mean 'next time'?"

"I'm not too sure what that means but that's what King told me." Tom rubbed his arms, "It feels cold tonight."

"I'm surprised, they're so many people here you'd think it's be a little hot."

A few people pulled up in their cars into the crowd, getting out and sitting on the hoods and roofs to see better. A white '64 El Camino pulled in loudly and shut off it's engine in less than a second. Alex could practically feel the arrogance radiating out of the black-haired boy that stepped out of the driver's seat. The young man grabbed one of the closest girls to him and jerked him to her.

Alex would've thought the girl would've slapped him or pulled away, but instead when the man put his hand on her bare leg--completely exposed by the micro-mini skirt she was wearing--and went up it, she pushed herself against him and he got his hand under her skirt.

"Depends on what kind of heat you're talking about." Tom told him.

Alex rolled his eyes for what felt like the millionth time.

"Okay," Tom looked at his watch, "it should start in exactly…three…two…now!"

Suddenly a loud voice was echoing around them, bouncing off the graffiti-covered walls and catching everyone's attention.

"Heelllooo, Greenwich!!" the girl's voice came loudly from speakers that no one could locate, "A'ight how many of you are ready for the new races?!"

A loud yell of from the huge crowd seemed to be an answer when she said, "I can't hear you!!!" and the yell turned into a roar.

"That's what I thought!"

Alex looked around for the girl and so did Tom.

"So we all pretty much know how this is gonna go, right??!! Right!!" Alex found her as she continued on, she was black with a model body and dark auburn hair, she looked like the other version of Eowyn as she stood on top of the eighteen-wheeler in her stiletto heels, mini jean shorts and bikini bra, "A'ight Van told me to tell you tonight's racers and honestly I have to say these names sound pretty hot so I gotta know who are fellas!!! Whoever wins--give me a call." she did a bump and grind on the truck and Alex heard several of the men yelling whoops and hollers, one of which he could clearly identify as Tom.

The girl laughed, "A'ight, a'ight settle down fellas, for anyone who doesn't know me or hasn't ever been to the Midnight Races I'm Keisha--American obviously but heck do I seriously care??!! Nope!

"A'ight, the six lucky racers are…" she pulled an envelope out of her back pocket and tore it open, "Racer number one…Demetrio Scott!" There was a loud whoop for the tall, dark-haired, Italian racer as he was led to the eighteen wheeler and bounded up the ladder towards Keisha, his hands in the air and his own whoops barely heard through the crowds, "Dang I was right--check out this guy, ladies! A'ight racer number two…Stan Block!" another roar came from the crowd as the arrogant, idiotic man that Alex utterly hated bounded up toward Keisha and actually grabbed her by the waist was called out.

"Are you serious?" Alex told Tom.

"I don't know how he got it," Tom said, "but one thing's for sure he probably paid them big time to call his name."

Keisha laughed and got back to her spot, "A'ight, a'ight, number--shoo, boy I'm getting tired of this number crap! Elena Ramirez, Jacob Parques, Garrett Channing, and Jason Smith get up here! Ooh, that last one sounds sexy!"

The crowd went wild as the last four riders went up and took their places by Keisha. Elena was a petite black-haired Brazilian who had a butterfly tattooed on the side of her exposed neck and a chain-bracelet on her ankle, Jacob looked French with his tight fitting shirt and tight skinny jeans, Garrett seemed to be a mix in between American and Hispanic with his light eyes, dark skin and dirty-blonde hair--he looked very much for someone who could pass as Carter's brother--and Jason was obviously American with his skinny jeans and 'California Beach' white t-shirt, "Alright we've got our racers now let's start the _Black Snake Tournament_!"

The roar of six car engines seemed to make the crowd frenzied, as the drivers were helped down and the eighteen wheeler pulled to a side with Keisha still on top, strutting from one end to the other. "You know, when I was little I always wanted to be a model, not a race announcer. Who knew this pays better?!" Alex laughed with the crowd as the girl kept making jokes.

"Alright, no more playing around, I think our racers are now situated in their vehicles."

Alex saw that Elena was in a '09 Mitsubishi Eclipse that had a LS 427 599 HP engine that was out of the hood and four mufflers in the back, the tires were pretty large on the small framed car but even so Alex could tell it was built for speed. Demetrio and Jacob both had Challengers that were very plain-looking and seemed to have no detail, (besides the white racing stripes on Jacob's black one and the black racing stripes on Demetrio's gray but he couldn't hear the engine of either one of them so he was sure that it probably was faster than the Eclipse. Jason had a '73 black mustang with a double muffler and a 383 Ford 450 HP Street Stroker engine that stuck out of the hood like Elena's. It roared as he revved the engine. Alex could tell right then and there it would come in dead last. Garrett's was a 82' silver Lamborghini with only sleek details and a purring engine Alex absolutely loved. And Stan's was the same as usual. Alex was seriously sick of seeing_ it _and _him_. His '88 Chevelle was still rocking on its huge tires that did not help with his speed, it's faded black paint was chipping off so it seriously looked hideous and by the crackle of his engine Alex could tell he wouldn't come in first, maybe second or third but unless he cheated he wouldn't come in first.

"A'ight now you guys know the route--through downtown of Greenwich, through the carnival outside of it, around mining plains _without _getting caught and back here. First one here wins and moves on to the second race of the Black Snake Tournament. Alright ready???!!!!"

The crowd yelled.

"Alright!!! One!!!" with one hand Keisha put untied the top of her bra and held it so it wouldn't drop just yet. He knew what she was doing. She would be the flag marker. "Two!!!" the engines revved like they were caged animals ready to attack, "And!!!! Th--"

"Wait!"

Keisha held onto her bikini as Stan Block got out of his car and back onto the eighteen-wheeler. Immediately the crowd started booing but he ignored them and grabbed the mike from Keisha.

"What the f--" as Stan took the mike Keisha's words were silenced over the boos of the crowd.

"Alright, I know this is a new series but I got something to say." Stan told the crowd. This was one of the many reasons Alex hated him. Ignorance, stupidity, and no sense! "Alright listen, listen! I want to challenge someone--they beat me last time and I said I would beat their butt next time and I'm living up to my word!! I'm challenging pretty-boy _Alex Rider _to a two-car duel!"

The crowd quieted for a moment but when Keisha took the mike and said, "A challenge! Alright Rider, get up here and take it! I've heard of you and I know how good you are, race with the six and prove against this Block that you're still victor!!!" the crowd went wild.

Alex was growling inside himself as two security guards came up to him and guided him the eighteen wheeler. But then the growling ceased and he was trying to get back to the friend he had lost in the immense crowd.

"Tom!" he yelled behind him, "Tom!"

He saw a bright carnival red patch of hair leap up from the crowd and a thumb jut upwards. Alex knew the gesture. It was Tom's way of saying, "Good luck." He'd need it.

As he climbed up the ladder to the huge eighteen wheeler he began thinking of what the heck he was going to do! He could beat Block easily. There was no doubt about that. But the fact of the matter was that he hadn't bothered to get his racer towed up here and he knew in two-car duels the opponent would always race no matter what car they were given. But if he was given Tom's car he was screwed. Tom was an expert at details and that's what made him almost as good as Alex, except Alex was able to maneuver and drift better than Tom. But even so there was so much "extra" to Tom's car that it would be impossible to figure out on the road while he was racing.

"And here he is ladies and gentle--ah, ladies and guys, Allleeeexxx Riiiidddeeerrr!!!" Keisha bounded towards him as she tied her bra strings back together. Alex smiled and waved at the crowd and wrapped his arms around Keisha as she bounded into them.

"Hey there, Sexy," she whispered in his ear.

"Hey K,"

Something else that was probably illegal in these part--besides the Races--was the fact that Keisha and Alex knew each other. He had gone out with her two years ago and although it hadn't ended on good terms--and by that he meant her throwing his phone, radio, clothes and television out of his apartment window--they still kept close in their friendship.

"Haven't seen you in a while." she said quickly, they couldn't stay in this position too long if not the crowd would realize what they were hiding.

"Busy. Work. Clubs."

"Oh yeah, completely professional." she pulled away and laughed.

"You know it." he told her and they turned to the crowd.

"Alright now, guys!" she talked into the mike, "Now the race is gonna start in about, oh, let's say two minutes. Rider here is gonna get ready and then it's gonna start! Heeeccckkk yeeeaaahhh!"

The crowd grew louder yet.

"Come on," she told him and led him back down the ladder…but not before Block shoved him from behind and made him stumble.

"In case you don't know," Alex said, turning around immediately, "normal people usually walk _past _other people and don't try to _attempt to walk through them_."

Block's face turned a cherry red. He got mad so easily. "You smartin' me, Rider?" he said back getting in Alex's face.

"Took that long to figure out, huh, Block?" Alex stayed in his place and the two racer's were nose to nose in less than a second. The crowd obviously seemed to love it, "You didn't beat me the last thirty times we've raced--what makes you think you can now?"

Block laughed, "Don't be stupid, I let you win all those!"

"Of course you did, you keep telling yourself that."

Alex started to step down to the ladder when he motioned to Keisha and she threw the mike up towards him. He caught it with a swift movement.

"Hey, Block!" Alex said loudly into the mike, "Three things to tell you and any other racer that's stupid like you."

Block turned about as red as he could, "To catch up to me you gotta be fast…" he looked over at the other racers, Elena was paying attention to his words but with a smug look and an impatient touch on her steering wheel, "to stay with me you gotta be good…" Demetrio and Jacob just looked at each other and laughed, they obviously were new to this, Garrett and Jason seemed to actually take Alex seriously, "but to pass me…"

Block stared at him through squinted eyes and a trembling lip that seemed like it wanted to raise up and growl like a dog. He could feel every eye on him and he said the final four words, "You gotta be kidding!!"

The crowd went wild and Alex threw the mike back down to the Keisha.

He could tell right then and there the race would be good. With these racers and his own abilities aiding him it would be more than good. The beginning of the Black Snake Tournament would be amazing.

* * *

**Okay sooo…I'm seriously busting out of my seams for the race chapter! I'm so excited for it! I hope you guys are too!**

**Reviews are always appreciated!!!**

**Xoxo, Millie**


	5. Thrill Drive

"I got a tip of what Block was going to do before the race started," Keisha told Alex as she held herself on the window of his race car, "I made sure I got something as close to your racer as possible. I still remember it." she smiled at him.

Alex could barely hear her as he sat in the leather seat with his foot itching at the gas pedal. The car wasn't on but he could practically feel the power emanating from it right then, he could practically feel the speed it would be able to go to in less than five seconds and could practically hear the smooth purr of the LS 427 SS 630 HP engine sitting inside the hood just waiting to be revved and pushed to it's limit.

"You did good, Keisha," he told her as he rubbed the steering wheel.

"You did the best, least I could do for you," she winked a hazel eye at him as she fingered the door with her dark bronze hand.

Alex wanted the race to start _now_. He really wanted to test this thing it looked _so _amazing inside _and _out.

It was a white Audi with black racing stripes that ran from the beginning of the rims around the car all the way down the spine and trunk to the other side of the rim. It had a high spoiler that was pure black--it would help with his speed greatly. The tires on the car were normal with shining silver hubcaps that reflected any light blindingly, a cheat but not necessarily one either, a loophole rather. It had a double muffler and four extra lights in the front. Inside Alex could see that the speedometer reached to a grizzly 350, fast enough for him to win but also dangerous enough for him to lose his life if he handled the thing wrong. There was a small touch-screen GPS on the dash with a screen that flashed the silver letters B. S. T. and a black cobra hissing behind them.

Eagerly, but slowly, Alex turned on the car. It hummed to life as all the lights inside and out beamed on. He sighed as the engine's smooth purr vibrated the car gently and the sound of the transmission piped up once he barely touched the gas.

"Oh, Keisha, you chose perfectly!" he told her as he touched the gas pedal with his toe and the made the Audi growl. It sounded like a caged animal waiting to be free, its patience slowly seeping from existence.

She shrugged, "I know, just remember there's a sharp turn near the carnival, it'd be best if you skipped it and went _through _the carnival instead."

"What about the people though?" he asked, the thought of putting innocent people in danger didn't amuse him.

"It's almost one, most of them will be gone, so you'll probably be able to get through pretty swiftly."

He exhaled. It was still dangerous.

"Where's Van and his girls?" he asked the tall dark-almond colored girl as the six other drivers began pulling in.

She pointed upward. Alex stuck out his head and looked in that direction. There was a large compartment that jutted out of the wall near the ceiling, it held up a series of light fixtures but also, if you really looked at it, you could see that the compartment was completely covered in glass and inside were about fifteen black figures walking and shifting about, three of them stood at the window and looked downward at them.

"There's your hero," Keisha teased.

Alex mocked her words and then rubbed the steering wheel caressingly.

"He got himself some new chick," Keisha went on as if he'd asked her about Van's personal life, "I think she's Mexican. I can't tell for sure, but she's short as heck and has an attitude bigger than three of her."

"What's her name?" Alex asked, looking off distantly at the road in front of him that started the race.

"I think Rubi. She looks young. Maybe nineteen. Gorgeous though, I'd do anything for her eyes. It's obvious why Van's into her. She looks like she could win the Olympics in swimming."

"Sounds cute." he said, then sighed softly not letting Keisha hear him.

She laughed, "A'ight, I'll start the race."

As she got up from leaning on the car, she obscurely whispered, "Final hint," Alex listened intently, any advice on the new race course could help, "when you go down this cliff, drift your second turn. If you're going too fast you could either flip or worse and if you go too slow you could ruin your chances for winning."

"Thanks,"

"No prob, Sexy," she winked, "A'ight let's start the rrrraaaaccceeeee!" she yelled to the crowd through the mike, leaving his car. Through the side mirrors he saw her climb the ladder back onto the trailer.

"Now that our seven racers are situated we can begin!"

The other cars pulled up to Alex's side. Elena's Eclipse jerked in place she she pulled up to him and revved her engine. Jacob, Garrett, and Stan drove to his other side. Jason and Demetrio pulled up on the opposite side with Elena. Jacob would rev his engine and Jason would every now and then glance at Alex then down at the gorgeous Audi that was in his possession.

"COUNT DOWN!!!" Keisha yelled and the crowd began cheering.

"Ten!" the crowd yelled with Keisha, "Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!"

Alex gently put his foot on the gas pedal, the engine hummed louder.

(When I wrote this I decided to have a little play list for the race, the first song is "Animal I Have Become" by Three Days Grace. Start it right here for best effect)

"Five! Four!" Keisha barely held up her bra now by the straps on her shoulder, "3!" the engines growled, "Two!" they jerked in place, "ONE!" the marker fell to the ground and the cars roared to life, speeding down the road.

The first one gone was Demetrio, the Italian caught sight of Alex coming up on him and pressed down on the gas, pulling the shift to 3rd.

_Idiot, _Alex thought, _wasting speed. You're wasting your chance to win_.

As they went down the road on the cliff a sharp turn came up and the seven racers swung on the road, Elena swinging and hitting her tail on the rail. Through the rearview mirror, Alex saw Jason coming straight behind him, high beaming him until Alex couldn't look into the mirror without his eyes hurting.

They hadn't even gotten down the cliff and already there were cheap, harsh cheats.

_You know what, neophyte?_ he stomped on his brake suddenly and Jason swerved around him, passing him to where he was directly behind Demetrio and Alex was beside him. _Eventually, you'll learn, kid. _Alex smiled as he felt the road slightly go down hill.

_Down the cliff, through downtown of Greenwich, through the carnival outside of it, around mining plains without getting caught and back here._

Alex remembered the directions for the race and when the GPS system in the Audi kicked on automatically and showed his destination and where he was it was obvious if he got lost he'd look like the stupidest man alive.

What was that last thing Keisha had told him? The last advice?

The turns began getting closer and closer together as they went steeply down the cliff's slope.

_Drift at your second sharp turn._ Her advice came back to his head.

Just as it did, Alex felt the car's tires strain as he reacted late to the very sharp turn he was going into. Demetrio accidentally swerved too late and hit the front light of his car with force as it caught on the rail and twisted him around. Jason and Alex passed the reversed gray Challenger and he could feel the other four drivers come flying up to them quickly.

The road was only wide enough for two cars to drive side-by-side, if a third decided to squeeze in it could only do so on the right and would then rub on the cliff's rock face and completely damage the whole side of the car, paint job and body. But obviously, Elena didn't care. Her red Eclipse gained speed and tried to shove past Alex, but he wasn't about to let her get entry. He turned his car closer to the rock face and blocked her and when she tried to get past him on the other side Jason was there and blockaded her as well.

Her engine growled as she went up and down on the gas, not able to pass the Audi and the '73 Mustang. _Imbeciles, _she thought to herself, _move out of the way! _she had to get past them. There was no way she was letting a twenty-three year old Britain and a eighteen year-old American win this race. She'd worked too hard to see the Midnight Races and she wasn't saying good-bye to it now.

Alex slammed into his steering wheel as the front of a raging Eclipse crashed into his trunk and tried to throw him off course.

_Darn it! _he yelled in his mind, scrambling for the shift and pulling it up to the third. He was glad the design of this car wasn't only automatic but standard as well, it helped him change speeds quickly. Right now, he needed to get away from the scorned Brazilian beauty behind him.

"Come on, come on, come on!" he yelled at the car, he could feel the cliff making another steep slope downhill and he knew what would be after.

He could barely see it, but with his high beams slicing through the thin foliage he could see the sudden, sharp turn the road would take to exit out of the cliff and then straight two miles to downtown Greenwich and then to the little carnival right on its outskirts, he could already see the city's lights.

Right now, his only problem wasn't when the turn was coming up but rather the fact that he may not make it considering the petite girl tailgating him at the moment.

_Bang! _She rammed into his trunk again and this time he felt her speed not drop but go up as she shoved him down the road.

"What is your problem, Bi--" before he could even scream at her, Jason slammed into his side.

"What the heck?!" he veered to the left, right back into Jason and as he did Elena continued to shove his back.

The curve was coming up too quickly now, if he couldn't drift he wasn't gonna even make the turn. It was heading downward and he knew he had a great chance at flipping the Audi what with its small structure it could be worse than that.

"Come on, come on, come on!" he snapped at himself, "Get off my tail!" he had to get her away, she needed to be gone--she was screwing it up! He could handle Jason slamming into his side but Elena was putting the race at stake, "I need something, come on…" he tried to think with all that was happening. They were even fifteen minutes into the race and everything was wrong!

The turn was at least one-fourth of a mile away, he wasn't gonna make it.

He looked into his mirror, Elena's eyes were penetrating his back, they seemed hypnotized into shoving him.

("Breathe Into Me" by Red)

"So long," he smiled.

Elena wasn't expecting the blonde boy to slam on his brakes, she veered to the right once she felt the change in speed and the impact on the sides of her car. She spun out of control and crashed into the side of the rock face, the driver's side completely dug in and Elena hurtled into the back--which was smashed from hitting Alex's own car. She came to a raging stop that she hadn't even made, the car itself had taken too much and the brakes locked.

Alex chuckled. One down. One to go.

Jason was behind him in a split second and he could see Garrett's '82 Lamborghini coming up behind Jason. Alex could barely make out the sound of Garrett's engine speeding up to meet up with Jason side by side. Alex did the same and sped up faster than both of them, he needed to get at least ten feet ahead of them. But the turn…it was too close now. Five feet would have to do.

Alex pressed down on the brake and pulled the shift to fifth, veering his car to the left he felt the back of his car swing to the right as he kept the front put. He kept the wheel tightly turning left and pressed down more on the gas. He could feel the pull of the tires as they scraped across the road, the harsh grip on his fingers as he tried to keep the car from going the other direction, and the curve of the road as he veered it the opposite direction.

Soon he saw the curve start to end and the road began to straighten out. Alex pushed his brakes and brought the shift back to fourth, throwing a harsh turn on the wheel and straightening out the car. He'd gotten the turn…

…but not all of them had.

He turned to look back as Jacob's Challenger swerved on the tight curve and slammed into the rail bordering the turn, he collided with Garrett's Lamborghini and flipped onto it with a loud _CRASH! _He felt his stomach turn at the sight. Not at the thought of Jacob or Garrett, more at the thought of how the Lamborghini was crushed at the top.

"Such a waste." Alex told himself, his foot pressed down on the gas more. Two miles and he'd be in Greenwich.

He looked into the mirror and the saw the remaining four drivers all lined up behind him on the one land road. _In the lead_. He thought to himself. Two miles at 175 m.p.h. would be reached in less than three minutes. He cranked up the stereo and rolled down his windows. He loved the felling of the speed, it felt invigorating, like an adrenaline rush that wasn't going to kill him…well, if he knew how to handle it.

The light's got brighter as he entered into the city.

"Here we go!" he saw the highway cars go at a normal speed, but soon Alex was raging between them and past them, they honked and swerved as the group of racers came and sped through dangerously.

"WHOO-HOO-HOO!"

Alex rolled his eyes as he heard Stan's outrageous whoops as a small Toyota Yaris tried to go past him and ran into a mini-van.

_Idiot hick._ he snapped in his mind, he maneuvered around the cars with ease and caused as little ruckus as possible. He heard a loud roar of a croaking engine come beside him and he turned to see the idiot-retard-hick that came beside him.

Stan rolled down his window and yelled through it, "Only one winner, Rider!" he told him, his eyes bouncing from the road to Alex's face, "We both know who that's gonna be!"

Alex smiled, "Yeah!" he revved his engine, "Me!" with a sharp twist, Alex was out of sight and onto another part of the highway.

It was so sudden Stan hadn't noticed what he was doing until he was gone and as he saw Alex veer he ran head-on with a Titan and smashed the front end of his car.

Alex laughed out, "Watch the mouth, you idiot!" he veered back into the original lane he was in and continued to speed up. He could see the large Ferris Wheel slowly turning as he got closer and closer to the carnival. He didn't look back at how many drivers were left. Stan was possibly not out of the way so he knew he couldn't count on the amount too well.

The light shined on his white hood as he entered the parking lot of the carnival, a splash of orange, blue, red, and white flashing from the rides like a thousand happy lights. He could see some of the rides shutting down, their lights off and the managers clearing away the area as they brought it down. It was almost one forty-five in the morning, of course not a lot of people would be there any more, but "not a lot" only meant there were still some left.

He could see some women holding hands with the little kid at her leg, men holding them as they slept on their shoulder. Families…

He tried to take his mind off the sight. It was twisting his stomach. He stared straight ahead and in less than two seconds had the route to go through and get out of the carnival that he wanted.

_Let's get this over with. _He revved his engine loudly, he wanted to give out a warning to the people, they were coming through and they wouldn't stop.

He saw several of them lit by his headlights and then shoved by a friend or spouse to not get hit by him, he saw one woman grab her daughter and yank her back to her side as he passed through, he could hear her yell something but it was drowned out by the other two cars behind him.

He saw a small path that most people would take to get to the merry-go-round and decided to take it, the ride was shut down and there weren't as many people there.

As he veered onto the road, it seemed like time stopped, everything was moving at the slowest pace as he spotted a couple coming down from the ride beside the Merry-Go-Round. It wasn't that they were in the way and it wasn't the fact that they were staring at him in disbelief--he would've done the same if four raging cars burst into a family carnival--it was the fact at how they looked.

("Again" by Flyleaf)

The man was tall with a dirty blonde a little lighter than his own, his facial expression was scrutinizing as he picked up a small girl in a ponytail and small pink dress into his arms. Amazingly…the man resembled him. Same structure, same facial features.

The woman was average size and didn't look like she'd be a mother. Her figure was beautiful and her black hair came in waves to below her shoulders, her skin was light almond and her lips light crimson as she picked up the small boy beside her and hugged him to her chest. As Alex passed them, his lights flashed in their face and beamed both of their eyes. The man's were dark blue, the woman's seemed like a mixture of gray and green.

Just how much she resembled Carter, yet didn't, scared him; just how much the kids they had resembled them and Alex could see his own face and Carter's in them, scared him. He felt his heart rate go up and his throat tighten. That could've been him and Carter…

He slammed on the gas and passed the Merry-Go-Round.

The other two drivers--he hadn't paid attention to who they were--weren't behind him anymore, they'd gone straight as he'd turned.

He gripped onto the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. It was everywhere. _She _was everywhere. It was hard. Right then he felt like something massive had just hit him in the chest and head, his breathing was so hard and he felt like he might break again.

He shook his head, trying his best to get the image of the couple and their children out of his mind.

He could see the Ferris Wheel coming up and knew that the carnival was only seconds away from ending. Squeezing through the kissing booth and the turning teacups he veered back into the lane that went straight through the carnival. He didn't expect to hit the peeling Chevelle as he did so.

"Are you serious??!" he yelled as he saw Stan's face right beside him.

"I told you, Rider, one winner!!" Stan yelled, his face bright red. Obviously he'd had to go through something to get second place.

Alex looked ahead and saw something that gave him pure joy! There was a small course for little kids to race their toy cars and bordering it were haystacks, two of them piled on top of each other.

"Like _I _said!" Alex yelled back, he swerved away from the haystacks as Stan barely noticed them, "Me!"

Stan slammed into the stacks, they pressured him into an immediate stop and they flew on top of his car and into his wheels. He wasn't getting out of there any time soon.

Alex laughed out again, watching Stan make a fool of himself twice was exhilarating.

He revved his engine and increased his speed. He couldn't see the other drivers but he could see the four cars' headlights behind him. There was at least fifty feet between him and them, he was in a good lead.

_Through the coal mines without getting caught…_

Alex remembered the directions then looked at the blinking GPS, suddenly a chiming voice came from the small navigator, "Four point seven miles to Thomas Mining Company."

Had it seriously been on? He hadn't even heard it at the beginning of the race at all.

_Whatever, _he thought and turned up the radio.

Slowly, Greenwich's lights faded and the only thing visible was the faint illuminated sphere shape of the Ferris Wheel which shut off in only a few seconds, he guessed the carnival was over…he hoped no one was hurt.

Suddenly, his car hit gravel and he struggled to keep control with the sudden jerk at the speed he was going. He could hear the gravel bouncing up and hitting the car and could see the dust rising and engulfing him, he hit a deep pothole and he gasped through his teeth.

He hated courses that were rough on the cars like this, especially when the cars were beauties like this.

He could see how far the empty plain spread out, it was about 2 miles. That was a pretty short distance and he knew he could probably keep the lead at it, the other cars were still a ways behind him. Already, he could see the road back up to the cliff to the finishing line, if it was so close why would Keisha warn about getting--?

Flashing red lights reflected off of Alex's car as a police cruiser came from the side and tried to tail him, trying his best to get at Alex's high speed.

"Darn it!" Alex pressed the gas pedal to the floor and he could feel the pull as the car gained speed and the small arrow constantly went higher on the dash.

Soon there were four more cops and he could hear on yell, "PULL OVER! IMMEDIATELY! PULL OVER NOW OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO MAKE YOU!!"

Alex laughed, they were always saying things they never--_CRACK!_

He looked behind him and saw a crack on his back window, the glass sprouted out white veins that came from a single circle where the glass was jaggedly rent.

They were shooting at him!

("Step To Me" by Thousand Foot Krutch)

He suddenly realized that his tires were normal, not the gelled armor ones that he usually put on his cars, they would explode if a bullet found its way in them. _No, no, no! _he looked at the road, it was _so _close! But he couldn't lead them to the finishing line. He had to think of something, but he was running out of time again.

The policeman driving pressed his gas as far as it would go without killing the engine. This one was going at a speed he'd never encountered and never hoped to encounter.

"Paul! Put that stupid thing up do you think they're going to listen?" he told the younger cop beside him, who put down the bullhorn, "And what was the point in shooting at him? That only made them go faster! Look Milan, Henderson, Jackson, and Klein are still trying to get those other drivers and here you are wasting bullets that could very much well save us!"

"I'm sorry, sir," the young cop, Paul, apologized, "I'm just--I've never been in a high-chase pursuit before! Never in my six months after training and it's amazing! Amazing! I tell you I never dreamed…" his voice got more excited as he continued and the older cop, Nathan, tried to block him out.

He noticed the driver in front of him change speed, but never direction. What was he doing? There was the side of a cliff and he literally looked like he was going to drive straight into it. But no idiot in a gorgeous Audi like that would dare do something that stupid or suicidal!

The cliff got closer.

This punk was out of his mind! He wasn't moving!

"Paul!" he snapped, "Yell on the bull horn again."

"But you said--"

"Now, Paul!"

Paul scrambled for the bull horn then put it to his lips, "Uh…uh…PULL OVER! NOW! PULL OVER! OR WE--WE--" he covered it with his hand, "We'll what?"

Nathan growled and snatched the horn and yelled, "PULL OVER PUNK!! IMMEDIATELY! OR ELSE WE'LL BE FORCED TO TAKE SERIOUS MEASURES! _PULL OVER_!!"

A hand came out of the white Audi's driver's window, at first it looked like a hand signal but then when all four fingers except the middle went down Nathan breathed sharply and grunted loudly.

Suddenly, Nathan and Paul didn't have time to react to the movement, the white Audi turned sharply and all the two policeman saw was the face of a cliff coming towards them at over 90 miles per hour.

Alex heard the impact the police cruiser made against the wall but didn't look back at the scene. He knew the two weren't dead but possibly rattled about what had just happened, sure they were probably hurt but they would live. He looked into his mirror though to see how many of the other racers were still going.

He could see three police cars in a circle around two pairs of headlights beaming from a black Mustang and a black Challenger.

Alex smiled, "Glad I still know my way around."

He squealed his tires and raced up the cliff. Four miles on the road, he could gradually hear the cheers of people, it came in waves that resonated around the warehouse that was coming into view. He could see the lights brightening the place around him and he felt exhilarated!

Slowing down he pulled in past the finish line, past the cheering people and suddenly they were raining down on him.

"We have a winner!!!" Keisha's voice rang out gladly.

She made her way to Alex's car and dragged him out of it, "In first place--" she raised his hand with hers--"ALEX RIDER!!!"

Everyone yelled and cheered, he felt several hands on him as they congratulated him and smacked his shoulder and back. Someone spun him around and all he could see was a flash of clown-red hair, but he knew immediately it was Tom.

"You did it, mate!" he practically yelled in his ear, "you did it! You won!"

Alex felt so alive right then, like there was nothing bad in the world. He'd won! At the moment, he didn't remember the past, he didn't remember the couple at the carnival, he didn't remember anything that brought him down. He'd won!

"And now," Keisha said into the mike, "Rider, you, are going to the next round of the Black Snake Tournament!"

Alex hugged Keisha and she wrapped her arms around him, they both knew what was going to happen. He would decline and they wouldn't see each other for a couple of months before the next big opening that he would win at. It was a sad fact that he couldn't continue in the races, he had many times before but not for a while. He needed to stay alive for his work.

Unexpectedly, a red Eclipse pulled up into the finish line as everyone cheered, the whole back side was banged in, the front and side were scraped, one of the headlights were dangling and the side mirrors were hanging limply to the side.

"Elena!" Keisha gasped.

The Brazilian stepped out of the car, she looked tired, like she'd taken too many hits.

"Second," she told Keisha and Alex, her gorgeous accent ringing out, "but not last." she smiled.

Alex couldn't help but go over to her, he tightly hugged her head and she began pushing him away, laughing as he didn't let her go. Alex knew right then who would take his place. He looked over at Tom who was jumping with the crowd and had two girls in his arms. He knew who would take hers.

From the loft overlooking the race and two drivers, a man sat comfortably in a large leather chair. He was tall, around 6' 6", his entire body was buff, his head was bald and his face was clean. He wore only a black t-shirt and dark jeans that complemented his muscles greatly.

Van Kenya. The director of all these races stared out pleased at the crowd below him.

The other driver, Block, had told him he could win. But the arrogance and nervousness in him that fluttered out like a timid butterfly told Van otherwise and he had never put his money on him. Instead he'd put it on this kid after he'd told the crowd, "To catch up to me you got to be quick, to stay with me you've got to be good, to pass me…you've got to be kidding." he'd said it with such confidence that he'd believed him. His judgment was obviously still good.

"Dang, that kid was fast!" the girl under his arm said, she popped a bubble with her gum. She was blonde with weird colored green eyes. She's never really seen a race but even so she looked fascinated at the winner.

"Shoo! He look like he a true racer on 'dem wheels!" the other girl on his other arm said. She had black hair that was pulled up in several braids, a green highlight sticking out of every single one of them. Her dark skin seemed to reflect on Van's light one and the other girl's pale skin seemed to reflect on his as well. You could tell he was from the Caribbean, it was obvious.

"Yes, ladies," he told them, "he is. With a car like that and moves like his, he's one of the best racers I've ever seen."

"What was his name again?" a third voice asked.

It wasn't of the two girls beside him or from the people behind him, it was from the girl standing near his chair with her eyes drifted into another world that was the winner's circle.

"Rubi," he chimed as he saw her, "I didn't even hear you come in."

She smiled, "I just got in a second ago."

He took her hand in his own and played with her fingers. Out of all the women he'd known in this business Rubi was the most gorgeous he'd seen. Her dark hair went down in waving curls to her shoulder blades, her body figure was absolutely amazing, her almond-colored skin always seemed to glow and her eyes--oh, those eyes! He absolutely loved them!

"His name's Rider. Alex Rider." he told her.

She angled her eyes downward a bit, as if in thought.

("Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace, just the guitar solo)

"Do you know him?" he asked.

"No…" she said softly, "but I do think he deserves a personal congratulations from us…" she stared out into the circle again and Van thought he saw a glint of sorrow in her eyes.

Rubi stared at the blonde winner, he looked so exhilarated and happy.

_A personal congratulations…_she thought to herself, _for everything, Alex…_

* * *

**Yeah I know that this chapter was like totally "The Fast and the Furious", but I couldn't help it! I love that movie! And…I know…I really can't wait to write the next chapter!!! AAAH!! So excited!! They're so close it's killing me!!**

**Hope you liked the playlist, it was **

**1. Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace**

**2. Breathe Into Me by Red**

**3. Step To Me by Thousand Foot Krutch or TFK**

**And 4. Never Too Late by Three Days Grace. (Love this song had to have it in it!!) **

**Review PLEEEEAAAASSSSEEEE!!!!! And thank you! Xoxo, Millie **


	6. In the Dark of the Night

After such an exhilarated race, Alex felt utterly exhausted. Fighting against two ramming cars, drifting and running from the police had really taken it out of him. At two a.m. he'd won the race, he'd felt so alive he'd forgotten about all his problems in his ironic life, but even winning couldn't fight the fact that he had a life and that it started every Monday through Friday and that it was a job.

At 3 a.m., he began leaving the warehouse of the Black Snake Tournament, Keisha walked him and Tom out towards the entrance where a black '15 Escalade waited for them silently.

"You know this was one of the fastest races to beat," the tall chocolate-colored girl told him.

"Yeah," he chuckled, "I know."

"Are you sure you can't move up?" her big caramel eyes and puckering lips made for a good plead, but he knew he couldn't."

"I'm sorry, Keke," he moved a strand of hair from her face, "I can't."

She sighed, "Yeah…still I thought I'd give it a try." she gave a single laugh. He smiled back at her. Keisha was so sweet, so understanding; he loved when she was around. She was almost like a sister to him…except he had kissed and slept with her.

_EW._

"Are you _sure _you can't give me your number?" Tom cut in; he had already pushed the subject while Alex was in the race and still didn't drop it. He was a man on a mission.

She rolled her eyes. She began to say no _again _but looked frustrated and closed her mouth instead, in a moment she came up with something else to tell him, "How 'bout this? _I'll_ call _you_ when that bright red clown fuzz on your head calms down from it's electric shock and goes back to normal." she smiled sarcastically, patted his shoulder and began to walk away. Alex tried his best to not laugh as she waved at them and Tom yelled, "But how--?"

"I have my ways." Keisha retorted, her hips twitching like one wanted to go one way and the other the other way.

"Psht!" Tom snapped, "Whatever!" and climbed into the car. Alex couldn't hold back his laugh as he got in the car with his best friend.

"Shut up!" Tom punched his arm, this time with force. He was upset.

Alex now laughing and rubbing his arm said, "Look the faster you dye it to faster she'll call."

"How the heck will she call? She doesn't have _my _number!" he slouched down in the seat and crossed his arms. He reminded Alex of a child who didn't get what he wanted…which…he didn't.

The Escalade took them to Alex's jet and Tom was still moody when they took off.

"Jeez, T, seriously? Over a girl?" he told him as they boarded the plane, "You're PMSing over this man."

"I am not!" Tom snapped and dropped into the closest seat.

Alex had chuckled quietly as he went up the stairs to the cabin.

But as he ascended, something felt wrong. He slipped his hand into his pocket and felt the laminated picture of Carter; he'd had it all through the race and held it in his hand as people congratulated him for the win. But right at the moment, something felt _really _wrong…but it was a _good _wrong. He barely made sense to himself.

He got inside the jet and saw the Escalade pull off as the jet started its engine. He ignored the feeling of iniquity and instead rolled his eyes as he listened to Tom's everlasting grumbled about how his hair wawsn;t clown-like and Keisha could just rot, which changed to how he could dye it back to black with blonde and how Keisha was pretty hot.

Alex hadn't said word, only several, "true's", "yeahs", "your choice", and "heck yeahs". Tom always seemed to figure out his problems by talking to himself. It was a self-proclaimed skill that made him appear more or less crazy in public.

"If I did it black," Tom told himself, "I'd still have the style and I…" his voice wasn't audible as they went back to London. Alex's mind was somewhere else. In the past.

His bad feeling was growing every moment they hung suspended in the air. It felt like it was eating him alive, it just seemed to be the only thing he could think of. He kept his hand in his pocket, his fingers embracing the laminated picture as he stared out of the small plastic window and "listened" to Tom.

Something was wrong…but wrong right now felt right…what was it?

* * *

Rubi shoved her things into a small duffle bag, she only carried the necessities. A hairbrush, shampoo, conditioner, clothes, deodorant, tooth brush, hair products, cell phone, three days worth of clothes, nail polish…well, the girl version of necessities anyway.

She had to hurry and get out of Van's house before he started pressuring her with questions. She'd told him she was going to give Rider a personal congratulations and see if she could change his mind about the races. That's what she told him. That's all he needed to know.

She didn't bother closing the door behind her as she ran out of the exquisite bedroom and down the marble stairs, almost tripping over her clumsy feet. She still wasn't quite as balanced as Alex. She saw the front door and darted for it, her light brown hair flying.

The black Lamborghini Van was letting her take was waiting patiently outside, a young man was holding the door for her.

"Gratzi," she told him. He was Italian and didn't know much English, lucky for him she knew English, Spanish, French, Italian and some Hebrew.

"Ciao, Senorita,"

She turned the engine and slammed her foot down on the gas, fish-tailing the turn and speeding off down the little country road.

Four hours to London if she didn't want to get caught by the police or anyone at that. Twelve hours to wait until the blonde racer came home from work. The time was obviously long, but the wait seemed even longer to Rubi, to Nina, to Black Rose.

* * *

_Alex was fourteen again, he was in France, he was in class--biology--sitting at a metal table with a dissected frog in front of him and the most beautiful person imaginable across from him. _

_Carter was staring at the frog with the most hilarious expression on her face. The threw down the knife and tweezers in her hand and crossed her arms. Her almond tone was actually getting a green tone. _

"_This is stupid."_

"_Why do you think I'm the one taking notes." he tapped his temple with the pen in his hands, "Smarts."_

_As the teacher, Reynolds, kept talking Carter smiled and put her foot on his knee. He shook his head and smiled quietly, not looking from the paper in front of him. Slowly though, her foot made its way up his leg. She made her way to the inside of his thigh and he tightened his whole body to try to not show he was feeling her. But she finally went too "up north" and he hit his leg on the table loudly, disrupting the class and having everyone look at them…_

_Alex was fourteen again, he was grasping for his life onto a thick cord with all his might and under him was a black put that went down more than twenty stories. Carter was holding onto his other hand, closer to death than he was. _

"_Don't you dare let go, Carter!" he yelled at her, salty dirt-mixed tears flooding his face. _

"_It won't hold us both…" she told him, her own eyes crying._

"_No, it will! It will, Carter!" _

_The cord ripped another inch from their combined weight and Alex strained to keep a hold of them both. _

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_NO! Carter don't!" _

_She kissed his knuckles, "I love you, Alex Rider…"_

"_Carter…"_

_She let go, he couldn't reach her again and she fell. _

"NOOOOOO!!!!"

Alex woke up in a cold sweat, his head was pounding and his hands were shaking.

"No, no…." he swung his legs over the side of the bed and rested his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. "God, no!" he yelled to himself in the darkness of his bedroom, "Make it stop, make it stop!" he could still see the image of her falling into the pit, could still feel her lips on his hands, could still feel the touch she always had. It hurt. "Make it, make it--!" he couldn't yell or talk through the thickened sobs heaving from his chest. He tasted salty water entering his mouth and finally looked up. Tears. Stupid tears.

After fifteen minutes he finally gained control of his breath and glanced at the small black clock on his nightstand. Six thirty a.m.

_Crap_, he thought, _three hours of sleep doesn't help an insomniac like me. _He ran his hand over his face, wiping the tears off his face. "Stupid dreams," he grumbled as he got out of his bed and went to the bathroom, "They never…they never leave." he swallowed the thickening lump in his throat, "Never."

He took a quick shower then changed quickly, avoiding the mirror as much as he possibly could. He felt like crap and he was sure he looked like it, every time he looked at the mirror it confirmed it.

He put on a black suit with a red shirt, not bothering to pick out a tie. He didn't feel like messing with that infernal thing and if he wore a cheat tie George would tease him. He played too much. He didn't really mess with his hair, just sprayed the front of it so he could keep the spikes. At least it didn't look hideous.

He grabbed his suitcase from the couch put his suit coat over his arm. He looked at the kitchen and realized he wouldn't be able to grab his coffee, he'd forgotten to put on the timer.

"Great. Well, now I have an excuse to be late. 'Starbucks had the longest line imaginable'. Yeah that's sounds pretty good."

He went to his front door and locked it. Taking the elevator he was downstairs in less than twenty seconds.

"Morning, Jake," he told the receptionist.

"Morning, Mr. Rider," the boy said cheerfully, "Running a little late are we?"

Alex looked at the clock. Eight o'clock. So maybe the shower wasn't that short after all.

He chuckled uncomfortably and walked out of the building where Eric was waiting with his Mercedes-Benz. It was weird whenever the receptionist tells you you're late, it's obvious they know your schedule. Especially a guy. Alex had always had his thoughts about him. The way Jake looked at him wasn't normal.

He shuddered and slipped into the car saying, "Morning, Eric."

The tall chauffer nodded and said, "Mr. Rider."

There was no doubt about it. Eric was straight. Jake…he didn't know. He'd rather not.

As they pulled off he leaned forward and said, "Oh, Eric, I forgot to ask. Do you think we could pass by the Starbucks and get a coffee real quick? They're on me." he smiled stupidly.

Eric laughed and said, "Yes, sir, I believe so."

Alex laughed and leaned back into his seat. He could just close his eyes and fall asleep again. He was so tired. Three hours wasn't enough sleep to be awake for fourteen hours. But he didn't want to take the risk that he might dream and have another episode right here in the car, Eric would call him all but crazy.

"Shall I order an espresso shot for yours, sir?" Eric asked.

Alex chuckled, "Please and thank you."

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Crazy or not, he would at least catch a few more moment of sleep. He needed it. He couldn't put up with the day if he didn't have it. Just a few more seconds….

"…Sir? Mr. Rider? Wake up, sir, we're at the building."

Alex woke up to see Eric holding a coffee cup with a green insignia that said Starbucks Coffee and a large building beside them. He looked at his watch. Eight forty-five.

_So much for a few seconds. _He got out of the car with his things and took the coffee.

"Thank you, Eric." he quickly made his way into the building, swerving around people and trying to not run into them as they crossed his path. He rushed into the elevator and pressed the white 28 button several times. More people came into the elevator and he knew most of them.

"Hello, Alex," a small woman, Janet, said to him.

"Hey, Jan." he smiled at her.

She blushed and turned away from him. More people came into the elevator and Alex barely had enough room to raise his hand for a sip of his coffee.

"Rider," a man's voice sounded beside him.

"Sam, hey." he shook the tall burly man's hand.

"Late again?" Sam said, but the question was more like a fact than an actual question.

"Starbucks had a long line today." he lied, trying to see if his line would work.

"Uh-huh, right, and I'm engaged to the Queen." Sam retorted, "You really think Walker's gonna believe that? Everyone knows you don't do your own dirty work." The bell to the elevator rung as they reached the twenty-eighth floor.

"Depends on what kind of dirty work you're talking about." Alex nudged him and made his way out of the crammed elevator.

"Okay, gross, very immature, Rider!" Sam told him as Alex got out.

He laughed, "I am the youngest in the company!"

He saw Sam laugh and look at the papers in his hand as the elevator closed. He took walked quickly through the call center, trying to gather his thoughts through the several voices talking over the other and the phones ringing off the hook. He began to pass the glass paneled conference room when he noticed there were people inside it, each of them sitting at a place where their name was and each with an impatient look on their old faces.

"Crap!" he snapped at himself, he could out of the corner of his eyes several employees look at him. He looked at them and gave a sarcastic smile. Seriously? They couldn't mind their own business?

He'd forgotten there was a conference today. Now he knew he was in for it. He groaned, "Great day to not be sick." he took a large sip of his coffee, he could taste the faint tang of the espresso shot in it and could feel it actually working. "Here goes."

He opened the glass door and stepped into the danger zone. Almost immediately, every head turned to him. The fifteen men and women stared at him with the same annoyance Alex felt towards them. Jeez, it was only nine, he could've sworn the thing started at eight forty-five, only fifteen minutes.

"Rider!" Tina Walker snapped, she was sitting at the far end of the table with a big chunk of a name tag sitting in front of her. Her dark brown hair was pulled up in a bun with her curled bangs almost covering her glasses. She was in a tight silk blouse that couldn't seem to breathe at her chest and an equally tight black skirt that seemed to be painted on her thighs and behind.

"Sorry, I'm late." he took his seat beside her and put his briefcase on the table.

"What's your excuse this time?" she asked him harshly.

"Starbucks--" he cut himself off, he knew Sam was right, she or any of the members of the board wouldn't believe that story, "Starbucks was…closed."

"Yet you have a coffee from there." she stated.

"We went to the other one and encountered traffic coming back."

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever.

"Now that we have been joined by the ever-late Rider," she addressed the board, "shall we begin?"

The old men and women grumbled in response and Tina said, "Good."

Alex slipped on his suit coat and sipped more of his coffee, opening up his briefcase to get the notes he'd had for the meeting. He'd had those done by Thursday. He closed the briefcase and began listening to the slutty president. The way she twitched her behind towards him was way too obvious.

Seriously? He'd already slept with her. Why was she making a fool of herself in front of the board.

He groaned. Today would be a _long_ day.

_Joy. _

* * *

Ten hours later.

James Kent. Tall, black haired, blue eyed, muscular. Handsome. He was a painter and he lived on the thirty-eighth floor of the Stratford apartments beside The Silver Wing condominium. The view he would get of the residents of the Silver Wing was interesting.

At the moment he was at his window with a small canvas in front of him and in his hand a black pastel. Right then, he'd found a view that he'd really liked.

He took the binoculars beside him and looked into the window where his next work of art would be inspired by. A young girl sat in front of a vanity mirror, her pale skin seemingly pasty against the contrast of the silk dress she was wearing. Her small hands were playing with her bright red hair as she decided on whether to wear it up or down. He could see her eyes through the mirror and knew right then that she was beautiful…but she knew it. She rolled her eyes and applied a dark red lipstick to her small lips and a put on a pearl necklace. She tossed her hair to a side and let it drape across her right shoulder, her left shoulder completely bare except for the small golden strap that held up her dress.

James quickly sketched the outline of the young woman, twisting and turning to get the perfect picture. He shaded in where the wrinkles of her dress folded in and where the setting sun came through her window and highlighted it. He drew everything but her facial features, he didn't want to touch it yet. The woman was extremely beautiful and he really didn't feel like damaging her image.

He continued drawing the contour lining and in ten minutes he was moving onto the colored pastel. He took out a gold and began drawing the dress she wore. He did it quickly because the sun was setting and already the girl seemed to be leaving. He got what he needed before she grabbed the white fur shawl on her bed and went out the door, a young man in a black tuxedo waiting for her.

"Lucky broad," Kent mumbled to himself, "this is the third time she's gone out and he's the third bachelor that's gone with her. Idiot." he criticized his model but continued drawing her. Once he got all the pastels down he got out his paints and began painting over the pastels, giving the image a lifelike reflection.

He dipped his brush in the red paint and began to color her lips slowly, curving with the drawing to not get out of the lines he had set up.

"But your face, my dear, your face. That's something I'll--" a hard object hit the back off Kent's head. The last thing he remembered wasn't hitting the floor, wasn't the face of his attacker, wasn't even the object that hit him. The last thing he saw was the paint trembling in his hand as he lost control and it struck the face of the woman in the painting, destroying her completely.

* * *

Rubi dropped the large marble vase she'd used to knock the painter out. She dragged his body away from the window and put him on the other side of the bed. He was still alive, just unconscious. It hadn't been hard to find something to attack him with. His little rinky-dink apartment was filled with so much "artistic" things she didn't even have to look at what she was picking up to know it would work.

She threw the duffle bag onto the bed and walked over to the window. She looked at the condominium beside the small apartment building, it seemed like such a strong contrast to this small brown one.

Her arm leaned against something that seemed to tilt, but she caught it before it even really left to hit the ground. She saw the canvas the man was painting. He was good. The girl even looked life-like. She was staring into the mirror with her hands raised and her fingers tangled in her hair.

As she looked at the canvas, Rubi took off the wig and unfastened her hair. It fell in long black waves to below her shoulders. She took off the skinny jeans, tank top and high heels she had on and slipped on a tight black long-sleeve shirt, a pair of black pants and some stiletto boots. She twisted her leg as she looked at the boots. They were nice. She actually liked them. She walked to the small bathroom and looked into the mirror. She ran the water on her face and dried it quickly with a towel hanging on the rack. With one hand she held an eye open and with the other she took out the green contact that was in it.

"Blast!" she dropped the thing into the soapy water. She didn't bother looking for it, she hated those things with a passion.

She walked back into the bedroom and dug further into her duffel bag. _Here it is. _She pulled out a small knife eight inches in length and two fingers of width. On the hilt there was a silver scorpion cut into sections but obvious to what the thing was. She slipped it in her boot and continued digging in her bag. Soon she found a small silver angel pistol, on it's chamber was the same scorpion. She opened the magazine and saw nine small bullets resting inside. She winced at the sight of them and snapped the cartridge back into place, locking it and slipping it into the back of her pants.

She looked at the painting again and suddenly it hit. She knew why the girl was so realistic. She'd seen her leaving the Silver Wing when she'd gotten out of the taxi into the Stratford Apartments.

_Seriously? _she picked up the canvas and threw it with its owner, hitting Kent on the chest and bouncing off to hit his head. He didn't even move. _Gosh, can't you people keep out of other people's lives?!_

She walked to the window and sat on the sill. She saw the last rays of the sunshine as it set behind the ever busy city of London. Street lights were coming on and car lights were flashing everywhere. In the distance she could see the faint shimmer of police lights reflecting against a building. She shook her head. _That's normal trouble…I'm everything but normal…._

She pulled one leg up to her chest and let the other dangle out the window, her toe barely touch the small three inch thick ledge.

The sun disappeared.

_Why…? _Why now? The sun was like her timer. She knew as soon as it set it'd be seven o'clock, that would be her beginning point to figure out how to do this. She glanced at the old alarm clock on the man's nightstand and it turned to seven o'clock. She sighed. Two more hours. Two more hours until nine o'clock, two more hours until Alex was home. Two more hours for the kill.

She held onto her side and fingered the scar she had there, not visible by her dark shirt.

She took out the gun and shot at the sky. She'd seen a small bird flying above the rooftops and decided to have a practice. By the thump on the car below the bird and the yell of a surprised woman she was guessing she'd gotten it.

She blew on the smoking gun. _You can do this, get it over with. The faster the better. It'll be over. Just remember…you're not Black Magician anymore…you're Black Rose. _

* * *

An hour and a half later.

"Thanks, Eric," Alex yawned as he got out off the car, throwing his suit coat over his shoulder and practically dragging his briefcase.

"Get some rest, Mr. Rider," Eric told him, closing the car door, "you look like you need it."

He chuckled, "I do. Good night."

"Good night, sir."

Alex walked into the Silver Wing, completely exhausted. He was wondering how he'd made it this far into the day. It was eight fifty, he felt like he was going to pass out right there in the reception area, his body was shaking he was so tired. To get to lunch he'd gone through two coffees, the one from Starbucks and one from the office, he'd slipped in an energy shot for the one from the office and he'd felt half-awake until three o'clock. But after three he fell asleep at his desk, to be awakened by Sam who slapped a pile of papers on his head then on his desk.

"Watch it, Rider, Walker's being a hawk today." he'd told him before leaving.

Alex had looked up from his desk and saw Walker standing on the outside of his office with a hand on her hip and a hair twirling a strand of loose hair. He'd seen her then started filling out the papers Sam had given him. He was guessing that was what gave him the energy boost he needed, the quicker the day went by the quicker he'd be away from Tina Walker.

He shuddered just as he thought about it.

"Hello, Mr. Rider." Jake's perky voice was not needed right then.

"Hi, Jake." he mumbled.

He was like a walking ghost as he slipped into the elevator, he barely felt the movement as he pressed the 40 button and the doors closed. He felt the elevator go up and as it did, the funny wrong/right feeling came back. He squirmed against the wall as it seem to make his hair stand on end. What was wrong with him? He hadn't felt like this since…since Lord knew when. Why would it come back now? He shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling, but it seemed to get worse as he got up to his home.

He opened the door with his keys and stepped inside quietly. He looked around.

This was ridiculous! It was his own home and he was checking to see if there was something in it. _Dang Rider, _he told himself, _you need like twelve hours of sleep or something, you're paranoid tonight. _

He put his briefcase on the bar and unbuttoned his shirt, kicking off his shoes and tossing them into his room. Today had been a long day and he just wanted to be comfortable.

He went to the sink, got a glass from the cabinet and poured in some water. He drank it down in three big gulps and turned on the radio. He recognized the song as "Code Name Raven" by House of Heroes. He actually liked it. He turned up the radio loudly and went over to the bar, opening his briefcase and taking out the work he hadn't time to do at the office.

_Alright then…bah, bah, bah…_

He looked through the papers and found the one he was looking for. He took out his pen and started signing the sheet. He turned up the radio as he did. Once signed he looked another sheet over and found it to be a contract with another branch.

Another one? How many companies were wanting to join _Marsh Electronics_? He looked over their stats and business theories, reading the letter from the president of the company. He started scribbling down notes to give Walker, he was liking this company, he thought they made a pretty good--_clink. _

He looked up from his notes cautiously. The noise wasn't from the kitchen and with the radio on it was way too loud to be a glass tinkling against another. He casually turned down the radio to where it was barely on, the lyrics were practically a mumble. He got up from the stool and pushed it in, walking to the sink and grabbing his glass again. He filled it up where the flow of water was barely audible then drank it as he walked to the living room.

The odd feeling was building in him again, this time it was like a pulse inside him, even his heartbeat was racing from the ever-feeding feeling. But this time he wasn't ignoring it, he knew for sure it would be disastrous if he did.

_Clink._

He drank the rest of the water then sat it on the glass coffee table. He went by the television and picked up the small crowbar he kept in the corner. He never actually thought he'd ever use it but he thought that maybe it'd be best if he kept it in reach for any purposes…robber…intruder…MI6. He slipped his fingers around it carefully and put it at his side, trying his best to not let it be the first thing that whatever was in there see.

He slowly went to his bedroom, cracking the door open at first but then letting it swing open widely. He stepped inside. Nothing seemed to be touched. The bed was still messed up, his closet door still open, there were some clothes on the ground where he'd left…wait. He looked at a blue shirt that was laid out on the bed. He hadn't put it there before.

The odd feeling seem to pierce him and he turned around, he felt as if eyes were watching him. He took a deep, quiet breath and walked out of the room. The feeling was practically tingling inside now as he walked back into the living room, his hand actually felt sweaty against the cold metal crowbar. For nine years no one had bothered him, not MI6, not Scorpia, no one. Why now? What had changed? Nothing.

He walked past the living room and went back to the kitchen.

_Stop._ his conscience just echoed in his mind as he stepped into the kitchen. He did. Right in his tracks he paused and gripped onto the crowbar tighter than ever, his knuckles hurt and he knew they were white. He felt nervous as the feeling started pulsating in his head and he knew something was going to happen. It wasn't just the weird feeling in his stomach, head, and heart, it was something more.

_CLANG! _Alex raised the crowbar just in time as a pan came hurtling toward him from the cabinets, it was the fastest reflex he'd done in years! But it caught him off guard and staggered back. As he looked up he saw someone completely clad head to toe in black jumping off the sink and onto the bar. It was a woman. He didn't even get a chance to fully see her before she was in the air swinging her legs at him. He lifted the crowbar again and swatted at her, hitting her foot and causing her to come down sooner than she needed to.

She kept on her feet though and lunged at him, throwing blow after blow at him. He dodged most of them, moving forward and backwards--mainly backwards--and jumping over the things that were in the way.

She finally got him in his side and he staggered backwards, hitting the end of the coffee table and knocking it over. He planted his hands on the ground before the table shattered into a million thick chunks and flipped backward, regaining his balance and getting back on his feet. He struck at her with his hand and as she blocked the strike, he lashed out his leg and hit his knee in her abdomen. She gasped but barely doubled over, she was back up in a second. She stepped on the couch arm and jumped, swinging out her leg and getting the side of his face with her heel.

Alex fell down on the couch, a warm trickle coming down the side of his face, and as he did she jumped onto his back and lunged her hand down. This time something glinted in the light and as her hand came down it sliced through the cushion. He rolled as soon as he saw the knife in her hand. When she came back after him he kicked at her and she swung the knife left and right after him, not bothering with coordination.

He dodged the lashes and grabbed one of his picture frames, hurtling it towards her and hitting her arm. She grasped at it as her sleeve separated into a thin line and a scar was on her arm, oozing warm blood. She narrowed her eyes at him through the ski mask and lunged at him again. He kicked at her and she grabbed his leg and pulled him. He took her by the arm and swung her around. She gasped as she lost her balance and fell face forward into the glass from the table.

Before Alex could do anything she was up and running towards the kitchen.

"HEY!" Alex ran for her and grabbed the two skillets hanging from the cabinets.

She looked at him crossly, a trickle of blood ran from above her eyebrow. She reached into her other boot and twisted out another dagger. She kept her eyes on him as she twirled the knifes with inhuman speed in her hands, crossing and twisting them. Finally she held them still and stood close to the ground.

Alex looked at the skillets in his hands and twirled them just as fast then raised them to the level of his eyes. He smiled. He still had it.

The assassin's eyes seemed to tremble as he did but then flashed and she was lunging at him again.

The pots and knifes clanged as they lashed at each other. The girl moved from the floor to the countertops to the floor again, jumping over the things they'd knocked down with such grace it was familiar. But he got her in the leg and then in the face. She fell backwards against the wall and as he brought down the skillet again, she ducked and he ended up knocking a hole into the wall. At the same time she lashed out and cut his forearm.

He yelled out and grasped his arm, dropping one of the skillets and staggering back. She began to lash at him again but he kicked her in the abdomen again and ended up doing it with such force she fell and rolled into his bedroom. As he looked he saw one of her knifes were stuck in the floor. They both glanced at it then glanced at each other. Before she could crawl to it, Alex kicked it and sent it flying into the other room, plunging into the rim of the wall.

She growled at him and then jumped at him, swinging the other knife at him. He blocked it with the remaining skillet he had and was able to grab onto her weapon arm. She gasped and then yelled out as he grabbed her waist and slammed her against the wall, taking the palm of his hand and punching it into her wrist. She dropped the knife and kicked him in his side. He was pushed back and she grabbed him by the shoulders, shoving him against the end of the bed. He grabbed her waist and slammed her against the wall again. She kicked at him and got him off, reaching into her back pocket and pulling out a gun. She fired twice and Alex fell to the ground, he grabbed her ankles before she could kick him and tripped her. She fell forward and the gun went off, shooting straight into the ceiling and busting the light. The only light there left was the kitchen and living room light, they might as well been shadows to the outside world. He grabbed her gun hand and knocked the gun out it, kicking it under the bed and snatching her in midair as she tried to leap over him.

Across the street in the Stratford apartments, an old couple sat in their living room watching television. The woman, Ramona, happened to glance at the Silver Wing Condominium. In one window she saw a woman grab a man's shoulders and he her waist and push her against a wall. She seemed to wrap her legs around him and he seemed to kiss her.

"Aww, George, look at that couple." she told her husband, "So in love. Why aren't we like that anymore?"

The man beside her snored his response. He'd been asleep since the movie started.

Alex put his face to the girl's as she kicked at his hips and punched him with her hands on his shoulders and collarbone.

"ENOUGH!" he yelled at her, grabbing her hands and slamming her hard against the television. It shattered into a thousand tiny pieces and she twisted her back, holding back a scream and closing her eyes tightly. She continued to kick at him and finally got him between the legs.

Alex doubled over as he felt an agonizing pain and couldn't even see straight. But before she could get away, his one large hand grabbed her two small ones and slammed them back against the glass, with his other hand he wrapped his entire arm around her waist and put her legs behind him where she was practically laying in the air. He tightened his grasp on her so bad she started wincing.

He'd gotten her. She might've gotten the element of surprise on him when they started but he was still 6' 3" and she was probably 5'4".

"Who are you!?" he yelled in her face, "Who sent you?!"

The girl looked at him through big pained eyes. She never said a word.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" he yelled again and tightened his grip on her waist.

She winced and said, "Alex…"

That voice.

He knew it.

Right then he knew it. It couldn't be…

He looked at her face again, those eyes…those gorgeous gray eyes. Only one person in the entire world had eyes like that, eyes that never seemed to change…that voice…those eyes…

The feeling seemed to confirm it as he thought.

Could it be…

"Alex…" she said again, her melodic voice trembling, her hands shaking.

He slipped his fingers on her neck and under the mask...

He pulled off the mask…

* * *

**YEAH ,YEAH, I KNOW, I KNOW!! I was so excited to write this chapter! I just, I loved it! But it didn't really come out the way I wanted it to…but I guess this is the best I could get it =D Hope you enjoyed it, please, please, please, COMMENT!!!!! They are greatly appreciated!!! They let me know you're not reading a piece of crap lol! **

**Thanks! **

**-Millie**

**P.s. Someone asked me how long it took me to write between chapters, ummm it really depends, sometimes like three weeks or a little over a month. If it's something like Thrill Drive or this one it might take a little longer than usual. Plus I'm in school and High School has so much freaking homework it should be illegal lol so that keeps me pretty busy. But I will have the next chapter up as soon as possible. **


	7. Impossible Mistakes

**Okay so I'm totally gonna warn you and tell you that this chapter is PRETTY long lol. It took me a while and I had more to it but I had to split it in half**** it was just too much for one chapter. Sorry it took soo long to post but I've been super super busy. High school is...bleh!!! enjoy lol!!**

* * *

Alex took the mask off the female assassin's face; the girl seemed to freeze at his touch but never once fought back, she seemed to _want _him to do it. As her raven black tresses fell past her shoulders and her almond toned face came into full view, Alex's mouth opened but nothing came out. He knew this face. Sure it was older, more matured but it could've been wrinkled or disfigured he still would've known who the gorgeous face belonged to. But right then, it was no closer to disfigured than a fish being able to walk on land. The assassin was gorgeous, beautiful beyond compare. But…it couldn't be.

Alex's heart practically stopped, his blood turned cold. It was as if someone had poured water on his reality and turned it into some ice wonder fantasy he'd thought would never happen. He staggered back as he took in her face, letting her go completely and falling at the end of his bed, sitting hard on the ground.

"Car…Carter?" the name was a whisper on his lips, it sounded so foreign, so alien. Yet it was if it was meant to be there. He stared at her with his hazel eyes in disbelief.

"Alex," her voice trembled as she said his name, she moved from the pile of glass that once was the television and over to the shaking boy that seemed to have gone into a mental state of shock.

He was right there, so close. She'd been so far from him, everyday seemed like a dark eternity because it was missing something so precious…now it right here. She went over to him and knelt in front of him. "Alex, it's me." she began to put her gloved hand on his shoulder when he moved out of her way and jumped up, bounding to the other side of the room so fast it was almost invisible.

Alex stayed at the other side of the bed, his hands in front of him like he was going to block something away from him.

"Alex," Carter stood up and looked at him in disbelief.

He shook his head and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He couldn't talk! Had he gone into a physical shock as well as his mental one?

"Alex, what's--" Carter came towards him.

"NO!" he yelled. She stopped, "You…you can't be here! You-you can't, it's not possible!"

"But Alex--"

"No, no, no…" he slid down the wall and sat on the ground again, "I'm dreaming," he said, trying to convince himself. His hands scrambled at his light blonde hair, his fingers twitching violently, "I-I fell asleep while I was working and I dreamed of you. I'm just dreaming…"

"Alex--"

"It can't be!" He finally yelled at her, slamming his fists down to his sides, "It can't! I saw you! I saw you fall!" inside mixed emotions bubbled and seemed to explode, like a cauldron finally boiling too much and overflowing onto the stove, "You let go! The building--there was nothing left of the building! It fell! _You _fell! I-I saw you…I saw…_you fell!_" tears of every emotion in him came to the surface. He was frustrated, angry, glad, in disbelief, "You're…you're dead." the last word came out like a whisper. He never--not in the nine years that she'd left--said that. Because it was reality, but _this _was a dream. "I'm gonna wake up," he continued, "and you won't be here. I'm going to wake up and I'm going to have another episode like last night, like _every_ night. Because you won't be here…because you let go…you're…" he put his hands to his forehead and closed his eyes.

Carter quietly rushed over to him, her heart breaking in half at the sight of his sobs. She knelt in front of him again, pulling her legs to either side of his and sitting on his lap. She took off her gloves and put her hands on his, pulling them down gently to his sides.

Alex opened his eyes and felt Carter's hands on his own…it felt so realistic! He let her handle his hands and stared at her gorgeous face, his dreams were never this vivid. He could feel her body heat, he could smell her breath, he could feel the silkiness of her skin…

"Alex," she put her nose against his cheek, "it's me, I swear…it's not a dream." she touched his face gently and felt his body shake softly, "I'm here…I'm _alive_."

Alex felt her touch again, he couldn't hold back the feeling it brought to him anymore. This couldn't be a dream…

"Carter…?" he put his hand on her face and softly touched her cheek, "Car--Carter!" he grasped her by the waist and brought her into him. Carter choked out a sob as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he tangled his hand in her soft hair.

"Carter, Carter, baby," he kissed her cheek, her nose, her forehead. She never let go of him, she clutched onto him as tightly as she possibly could without hurting him. Alex finally took her face in both hands and put his nose to hers. "How?" he asked, "How can this be? You-you fell you--"

"Shh, Shh," she put her finger on his lips, "I'll tell you in time…" Alex took her hand and kept it on his face, keeping his own over it, "I've missed you so much, Alex, I-I couldn't--"

"You're here though," he kissed her hand, her fingertips, "you came back."

"But not for the right reasons--"

"No, no, don't say anything. Don't." he brought her back inside his arms again and she put her hands on his chest, "You're here…you're here." he squeezed her softly. As he did, she tried to wince quietly, but Alex still caught it.

"Carter, I'm sorry!" he lessened his grip on her but she clutched onto him.

"No, don't be. You were just…" she bit her lip, "protecting yourself."

"But I should've known--"

"Known what?" she cocked her head and squared her jaw, "Some random chick dressed in black breaks into your house and starts attacking you and should've recognized her? Not a chance, Rider." she smiled at him, her jewel gray eyes seemed to almost shimmer in the dim light. He smiled back at her. She hadn't changed a bit.

"Why did you wait for so long?" he asked her, taking her hands again, "Why so long?"

Her lip trembled, "Alex, I'm sorry. I couldn't get away from them. Those idiot lowlifes wouldn't let me."

"Who's 'them'?" he asked. He couldn't imagine someone hurting Carter, just to think about it was irate.

She looked down and put her hand on her arms, covering up the scar she'd gotten from their recent attack.

"Carter," he put her face back to his and she exhaled deeply.

"It's them." she said, her voice cracked, "It's always been them."

"Who?"

"You know who."

"It can't be them. They haven't tried anything in years."

"It's because you've living in denial all these years, Alex. It's them. It always will be. They'll never leave us alone. They'll never leave. Scor--AAH!"

Carter snapped her hands up to her head and covered her ears, her fingernails digging into her hair, her eyes squeezed shut and her teeth clamped together.

"Carter!" Alex held onto her as she continued to scream in agony, "Carter! Carter, what's--?!"

"_Make it stop_!" she cried out, snapping her head back and covering her ears, "The noise! Make it--turn it off!"

"Turn what--?!"

"The screech!" she screamed again and fell onto her back, "It's-it's burning! My head!"

"Carter!" Alex got off the floor and picked her up, carrying her like a small child. She tore at her hair and kicked her legs, "Please! Make it stop! Please, _please_!" he laid her on the bed and held onto her hand tightly, sitting at her side.

"Carter, what's happening?!" Alex didn't know what was going on, he didn't know what to do! All he knew was she needed to be helped, but how could her? "Carter, Carter, calm down, just try to relax!:

"It's burning!" she yelled, thrashing her head, "it-it--AAH!" she grabbed onto her side and pulled her legs toward her chest, gripping onto Alex's hand tightly and going into a fetal position, "Al-Al-Alex," she gasped as she talked, she stuttered and difficulty speaking, she couldn't catch her breath, "please, make it-make it stop!"

"Carter, make what stop?!" he put his hand on her forehead, she was burning with fever.

"Take--It--out!" she managed through gritted teeth, "Take the chip out!"

"Chip?!" he held her hand still though her grip was much stronger than before and he was beginning to lose feeling in the fingers she held.

Her breathing started slowing again from its quick pants and gasps, now, though her breathing was still hard, she seemed to be able to focus a little more. But as she opened her eyes to Alex, all he could see in them was pain jolting throughout her like a ball in a pinball machine.

"Carter, _what chip_?" he asked again, this time shaking her shoulders a bit.

Her face had a thin layer of sweat and her body was still shaking, her skin felt frigid but her head felt like a bed of coals.

"The…chip…" she tried to talk but Alex could tell just talking was draining her of strength, "in me."

_Okay, Rider, rephrase the question. She can't talk, find a way to rephrase. _"Carter," he let go of her hand and grabbed onto her shoulders again, shaking her more but speaking clearly, he felt like a pioneer asking an Indian just where a stupid waterfall was when it was practically behind him, "Carter, listen to me. Who can take out the chip? Carter, Carter, honey, look at me. You have to _answer _me…"

Carter tried her best to open her eyes, but the quiet ringing in her head was making her just want to go unconscious. But Alex's voice was hovering around like a cloud, it kept talking to her and was the only thing that kept her awake. She couldn't understand him, it was all muffled and drowned out but the screeching in her head, he sounded far away or underwater while she was at the surface. He was trying to help her, she had tohear what he was saying.

"Carter, please, answer me! Who can take it out?"

The thin layer of her that was blocking out the voice and was making it muffled began to disintegrate and she caught a few words, but he still sounded far. She'd caught, "Who…chip…out." she put the three words together and tried to decipher what he was saying.

"M…" she tried to spit out the word, the word she knew Alex hated with a fury that would last till he died. But they were the only ones who could take out the chip, "M…I6."

Alex froze as Carter said it. He shook his head and stared at her.

"No.." he told her.

"Alex--"

"No! There has to be someone else, anyone else!"

She shook her head, "No…there's no one…" she bit her lip then and exhaled sharply through her nose, "No one else…has the…technology"--she barely found the strength to say the word--"to do it."

He gritted his teeth, "No."

"Alex, please…please." she begged him. She could feel the pain start to convulse in her body again, it gave her a pump of energy as she tried to catch her breath from the blow it was throwing at her, "Alex…Alex, please, please!" she tried to hold back her scream but it burst from her lungs and the tears she'd held back finally spilled over. She did her best to hold back the screams of her torture, she gritted her teeth, bit her lip, held her breath but nothing helped. It wouldn't go away.

Alex held her hand as she screamed and started shaking again, he could see the vein in her neck pulse like a heartbeat as she bit her lip and her hands twist the sheets violently.

_They're the only ones, Rider,_ he told himself, _you have to. For her. _

"Come on," he put his arm under her head and shoulders, "I've got to get you there."

"Let me…" she put her head against his neck, "let me walk…"

"Carter, you can barely talk, you're in no condition to walk."

"But…people…"

"Can just think what they want." he slipped on his shoes quickly, his wallet was still in his pocket, and grabbed his cell off the counter, "I just need to get you some help." _even if it means going to the ones who told me you were dead._

As he kicked his door open and slipped into the elevator, he was still somewhat believing that this was all a dream, that it was all going to be over and he'd have another episode to start off Tuesday. But even if it was a dream, it was the best he'd had in a long time and he wasn't about to let it die out.

As soon as he stepped out of the elevator he could feel several eyes on him. There were so many people down in the lobby just by a glance he estimated about seventy five in one section. And everyone of them were staring at the handsome looking blonde man stepping out of the elevator with a half-conscious girl in his arms.

_Of all days the lot of people decided to come just had to be today, didn't it!_

Alex held Carter closer to him and she held on tightly to his shirt. He put on the fakest smile conjured as he tried to make his way to the door inconspicuously. Once outside he could call Eric to pick him up and rush them to the Royal & General Bank. But he needed to hurry, he could feel Carter's fever start to rise again.

"Hello." he said at the several eyes fixed on him like an idiot to a shiny object, "Don't mind us, heh, just uh…she just had too much to drink. Tipsy ha, ha…" his "laugh" was beyond fake, "Okay! Yeah, leaving now--OW!" but the pinch and twist Carter gave him was most definitely not, "Okay!" he told her, "Leaving, _leaving_!" He dashed out the door and pulled out his cell phone from his shirt pocket, trying his best to not drop her.

"Too much to drink?!" she scolded quietly, "Seriously? That's the best you could come up with?" she winced and put her face back to his neck.

"Given the circumstances--my brain was working as fast as it could!" he retorted, "You try coming--Hello?!"

"Hello?" Eric's voice came on the other line.

"Eric! Eric, listen I need a favor."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Rider."

"I know it's late but I need you to drive me to--"

"Eric!" Alex heard the voice of a woman in the background calling for him, "Kim wants you to read to her before she goes to sleep."

"One moment dear!" Eric's voice was kind of muffled, Alex guessed he had his hand on the phone, "Sweetheart, it's my boss… not…Okay I will…but my job, babe!"

Alex felt bad now. The woman obviously didn't want him to leave and neither did his daughter. Well…fewer eyes to behold the tragedy happening, fewer witnesses to have to explain to.

"Eric? Hey Eric? Eric!" he finally shouted his name.

"Yes sir, Mr. Rider." he finally answered.

"Look just tell me where you keep the spare key. You won't have to bother coming to Piccadilly."

"Thank you, Mr. Rider! Um, the keys should be right above the tire in a little fold of metal."

"Thanks."

"You--"

He hung up before Eric finished.

"Alex…" Carter was holding onto his shirt again, "please hurry…it's hurting…again." she bit back a solid scream that was beginning to rise up in her throat and twisted the loose part of his shirt.

"Just hold on, Carter," he kissed her forehead, it was blazing hot. "Just hold on a little longer." he ran down the side of the Silver Wing to the parking lot garage. There were several cars but he took an obvious guess that the lone, black, Mercedes-Benz with Rider on the license plate was his. He ran to it as quickly as he could without hurting Carter. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the bouncing movement, the pain was searing into her side from it. She did her best to hold back her cries by biting her lip, but when the gross, warm, salty taste of blood met her tongue she quit and just gritted her teeth.

Alex bent his left leg to balance Carter on it and his arm and with his free hand he reached above the wheel looking for the key, his fingers searching impatiently.

"Alex," Carter told him, "let me…walk."

"Again I remind you, you can barely talk--yet pinch hard--how are you going to walk?" he scolded.

"Just to the car door…I don't…I don't like having to depend…on someone." while she spoke she was trying to get out of his arms, her hands shaking at the weak movement.

"You stubborn brat," she shook his head and helped her to her feet, at that same moment he felt the key and snatched it, cutting the side of his hand on the small metal fold.

"I try," she said quietly, giving him the timid smile he'd fallen in love with so long ago.

"I already got the key." he told her as she held onto the car, "Here." he unlocked the doors quickly. He saw her head to the back seat and said, "I'd rather you sit up front."

"I'd rather lay down." she said, crawling into the back seat and laying facedown on the black leather seat, her arms wrapped underneath her and her leg curving to not get hit by the door.

"Stubborn." he scolded.

"Drive…" she said, her voice muffled by the seat.

He got into the car and turned the engine, mashing down the gas petal and swerving it out of the garage, jerking onto Piccadilly Circus.

"Carter, are you sure only MI6 can help us?" he asked her again as he sped down the busy road, the flash of car lights a blur and honking horns a distant sound.

"I'm sure. They're--They--" she put her face further into the seat to stop the scream from emerging from her mouth.

He suppressed his grunt as he dialed the "bank's" number. MI6 was dull and stupid, they'd never change locations. He hoped they wouldn't. "Come on!" he growled as the line rang four times.

"You've reached the Royal and General Bank. This is Tasha how can I--" Alex wasn't one for greetings.

"I need to speak with Mrs. Jones." he told the girl point blank.

"Excuse me?"

"_Tulip Jones_!" he practically shouted.

"I'm sorry sir, there's no--"

"Cut the crap, I know Jones is there just as I know the Royal & General bank _isn't _a bank."

"I'm sorry sir, you must have a wrong--"

"My name's Alex Rider. John Rider's son and Ian Rider's nephew. I worked for the 'bank' when I was fourteen and now _I need to speak to Jones_!" he was running out of patience with the woman.

The girl didn't speak for a moment but finally after a second said, "One moment please." Alex rolled his eyes. Did he have to give a life story to be believed?

An older woman's voice was on the line, it rang with a familiarity that was both warm and cold to him, "Alex?"

He swallowed and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, "Mrs. Jones?" the name held an ill taste for his mouth.

"Alex!" Mrs. Jones voice actually sounded glad, "Alex, dear, it's been years! How are you--"

"Mrs. Jones, I don't have time to discuss my life right now. Besides I'm sure you know how I've been.

"Listen, as much I regret it I need your help." he ran a red light and turned onto a busy road.

"With what? Alex, why--"

"I can't explain right now just meet me at the side of the building with some medics. You'll get it once you see us."

" 'Us' Alex you need to--"

Carter's garbled scream blocked out what Mrs. Jones said, she cried out, "The screech! Turn it off!! Make it stop--AAHH!"

"Alex, what--?!"

"Carter hang on! We're almost there!" he swerved onto another road and he could see the Royal & General bank just rushing to meet him.

"Did you just say 'Carter'?!" Mrs. Jones demanded, her voice going up an octave.

"Just do it!" he said, hanging, "Carter, we're almost there, just hold--"

"It won't go away!" she was on her back, her ears covered by her scrambling hands, "It won't stop! My head!" Alex swerved onto the small business road that was closest to the building, "My head is burning!" she cried, her breaths short and ragged.

It wasn't leaving. The pain. It had come in waves at first but now it was just sticking to her like a magnet to metal. It felt like someone was pouring something molten and hot into her head; her whole body felt like it was being hit with cold stinging steel. It hurt so much! She would've taken her fall again compared to this pain, she would've taken the electric pole in her side again compared to this torture! It seemed like nothing. Those burns, those wounds they were so measly. She barely felt the movement of the car, Alex's voice was a wiped-out muffle, she couldn't even see straight. Everything was double and the colors were slowly slipping to black and white. She couldn't stay awake much longer, she just wanted to sleep, she wanted to get away from this pain. Maybe then the pain would begin to fade out and when she woke up it would be gone…if she woke up. She saw Alex's face as he put her back in his arms, but after that the white was taken over by the black and she plummeted into darkness.

"Carter! No, Carter, come on, we're here!" Alex stopped the car by the building and dashed out, going to the back and lifting her into his arms. She wasn't moving anymore, her eyes weren't open and she wasn't talking. Oh no.

But everything happened like a blur as soon as he took a step with her in his arms. Mrs. Jones and the medics came out running, her face was in utter shock at the sight of the almond-skinned girl in Alex's arms. He looked at her and she seemed to understand immediately. He never said a word of direction but they seemed to get the point that she needed medical attention. By now, Carter wasn't screaming anymore, but she was covered in a layer of cold sweat that was practically like a second skin.

As he saw them take her from his arms, onto the stretcher and into the building, her tried to stay by her side. Holding her hand. But Mrs. Jones grabbed his bicep and pulled him away from Carter and the medics, holding him steady in the small alley he had taken them to.

"Alex," she told him, "we need to talk."

He looked at the woman's face. _For you Carter, _he thought to himself, _only for you._ He followed her into the building that, nine years ago, he swore he would never return to. As he saw the pale colorless walls and smelled the crisp air conditioner he knew at once…it was a mistake. But it was one he would have to make.

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**Hahaha, I told you--long! Hope you liked it! Remember, reviews are always appreciated!! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible.  
Also Anything you guys would LIKE to read in the story I would gladly like to hear :) so far I have a sure plan but I can always use any good ideas!!!**

**Xoxo, Millie**


	8. Back Again

**I am sooooooo sorry!! I know it's been way too long since I last posted a story. I have been so busy and have literally been grieving since I just now started to write these again. Please forgive me **

**So a warning to everyone!!!! The chapters--including this one--that will be in the rest story will possible be seriously long…possibly…I'll never know until I finish it lol.**

* * *

"The little girl really gave you a beating, didn't she?" the nurse fixing the cut on his cheek said. He chuckled at her comment.

He hadn't realized just how badly Carter had damaged him until she was no longer in his care and his mind wasn't only running on, "help Carter, help Carter, help Carter." Every place she'd hit him there was a purple or blue bruise, his legs felt like they were gonna snap they hurt so bad, and he could feel the cut on his cheek sting with nurse's touch. He hadn't realized just how out of shape for self defense he really was.

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt too--OW!" the woman touched the bag of ice wrapped in a towel that was sitting in between his legs, another bruise Carter had managed to give. That one wasn't healing so well.

"Not too much? Ha." she put up the things she used to help his injuries and gave a sarcastic stare.

"Well," he put his leg up on the coffee table and moved the ice bag back in place, "I didn't say it _all _didn't hurt too much."

"Mmm-hmmm." the woman uttered, then laughed.

Alex scrunched down onto the couch and pulled one of the scarlet pillows to his chest. At the moment he was in a large room that had a deep-cushioned couch, with soft pillows, white recliners, a cherry-oak coffee-table, a fireplace with a silver grate and lining, two glass vases sat on the small shelf with the same lining that was on the fireplace, and a thin layer of carpet on the floor. There were no windows, no decorations. Just plain white walls without color or pictures. He didn't remember ever coming into this room, but he did remember the non-emotional, life-less tone most of MI6's rooms had.

"Oh my," the nurse chuckled, "how you've grown, Alex."

He gave her a confused look. "Excuse me?" he said, "You seem to know me but I--"

"Don't remember me? It's understandable." she shrugged, "I was one of the many that helped clean you up after your mission in France with Dr. Hugo Grief on those Swiss Alps. Ugh, the horrid man and his impeccable clones." she shuddered then winked at him, "Also," she continued, "No one has forgotten the Riders. Your uncle and father. Many wanted them and we got them." she snapped her small medical handbag shut, "and trust me, no one will forget the fourteen-year-old agent we had." she smiled again.

He laughed in his throat once. It was like an odd reunion he didn't want to be at--which he didn't--and it was beginning to make him feel more awkward as it was. Changing the subject he asked, "When can I see her?"

"Who? The little girl?"

"Carter."

She laughed, "In a moment, I believe Mrs. Jones wants--"

"Thank you, Priscilla." a new voice came into the room making Alex and the nurse turn toward the door. He'd guessed who it was before he'd actually seen the person, as he turned and saw her face it was just a confirmation to his assumption.

Mrs. Jones hadn't changed much in nine years. Her odd cropped black hair was actually down to her shoulders now, a few wrinkles began to line her face and her eyes still had their guarded bars against them. She was wearing a gray empire-waist pencil skirt, a cream colored silk blouse that was tucked in and a pearl necklace that was layered with other pearls.

"I'll take it from here," she told Priscilla. The nurse nodded and left the room, shutting the door quietly.

"Hello Alex," she greeted him as she sat down in one of the recliners opposite of him.

He nodded to her.

She crossed her legs, leaned on the armrest and clasped her hands together, "How've you--"

"What do you want?" he didn't bother calling her by her name, he didn't bother with a greeting to her. He just wanted to know what she wanted. Point blank.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, the movement was so tiny Alex barely caught it, "Just to know how you've been."

"We both know that's a lie." he stated, "There is a fat chance that you do not know how I have been, with your guileful noses stuck in everything that is not your business."

Mrs. Jones exhaled sharply, shifted again and tried to maintain her smile of plaster, "You are obviously not in the mood to talk--"

"Obviously."

"--but nonetheless, you will answer me one question."

"I would like to see you make me."

"Oh, trust me you will. For you yourself are wondering the answer. I know it has been aching your mind."

"And which question would that be?"

"How is Cassandra Luving alive?" she shot the five words with such intensity that Alex fell silent. He realized then that he didn't have the answer to that. Reality dawned on him that just three hours before, the person who "had died" had just tried to kill him. Carter shouldn't have been attacking him, she should've been down at the bottom of a collapsed building dead.

"I…I do not know." he confessed. He didn't, why lie? "And I do not want to be here either." again, why lie?

"Well considering the circumstances I do not believe you have much of a choice." the sarcastic smile that she gave was more than called for and Alex wanted to smack it off.

"When can I see her?" he asked, not waiting until the uncomfortable silence filled the air and forced it out of him. He needed to see her. It had already been an hour since they got to MI6 wasn't that enough for them to help her?

"In a while." Mrs. Jones stated, uncrossing her legs and standing.

"What do you mean, 'in a while'?" he asked harshly, "It has already _been _a while."

"I know." she walked to the fireplace and, placing her hand on the wall casually, messed with the picture on it. " but right now she's…not available."

"Not available?" he repeated. He started to get up but when the pack moved and he realized his buddy was still sore he decided against it.

"Yes. Like I said."

"Unavailable doing what?" he snapped, "Questioning her? Prodding her? You gave her two Tylenols to ease the pain then interrogated her until it came back--is that it?"

"Christ! Alex, you have the most inane conclusions that you leap to!" she put her hands on her hips, "Well…you have not changed much--"

"I have changed a lot."

"--besides gaining the attitude _she _had nine years ago, I would say you look just like I pictured you."

"How should I take that? Compliment or insult?"

"Either way you choose, compliment because I imagined you being handsome. Insult because I just compared you to a fourteen-year-old girl.

"But the fact is, we are _not _interrogating Carter. We did _not _just give her morphine to ease the pain and--before you interrupt me again--I will tell you she is in surgery."

"Surgery?" he hadn't expected that, "for what?"

Mrs. Jones paced slowly around the fireplace as she explained: "When you brought her here our medical staff came and ran some tests on her to see why she was having the reaction she was. By the time they got her into the room and connected some iv's to her she woke up and began vomiting. Her fever went up to one hundred and four and her body was going into convulsions. While running the test they found a faint trace of metal in her body--not iron. Literal metal. It was like fragments in her blood stream and it seemed to not cause her any harm but there was like a small nest where the most traces were found. It seemed to be…pulsing. I suppose that is the correct but it seemed to be what was triggering those pain waves. Somehow, whoever put it inside her had a pretty advanced piece of technology because it's made itself apart of her bloodstream and nerves.

"It seems to be some sort of tracker. The technology in it is very, _very _advanced so we know for a fact we cannot actually take it out. Doing so would possibly damage the function of her body. Perhaps not everywhere in her body but it would tear several nerves apart and disable her in areas."

Alex shifted in his seat, "Then…" his voice was calmer now, he was calmer now. He was getting the fact that Carter was near death if they operated on her and took it out…again. Near the pit…again. "What are you going to do to help her?"

"Well since we cannot remove it then we will do the next best thing: disable it. It is the only logical and safe thing to do. But her skin has some kind of, well I am not sure what it is but it seems to have some sort of self-repair. When they put the anesthetic and began operating her skin kept sewing back together. It was really amazing to see such a thing actually exist, but it has also made the duration of the operation longer. They have had to drug her double to be able to get it through her veins and get the skin to stop healing so fast."

Alex was holding back his gasp as he heard Mrs. Jones mention the self-repair in Carter's skin. His mind had a flash back to nine years ago when Carter had passed out in the cafeteria line, gashed her arm on the sharp part of the counter and fell. When he'd taken her to the nurse she'd taken the pills she took everyday and in less than fifteen minutes the bleeding gash had disappeared. There was barely even a trace of a bruise.

It was still in her body...?

"So, when will she be out?" he asked. Sitting still and appearing more like the fourteen year old boy who once worked there than ever before.

"In about three hours." she walked over to him, her feet barely made a sound on the carpet, "Alex…"

He looked at her sharply. He recognized that tone of voice. He hadn't heard it in several years but he knew for a fact what it was. It was the tone whenever Jack wanted him to do something and she was being sweet about it, it was the tone of when his uncle was leaving and was sweetly lying about where he was going but truthfully saying that he needed him to keep an eye out for him and that he'd miss him, it was the tone of Mr. Brookes when he asked him to go on a mission for ASIS, it was the tone of when Mrs. Jones was trying to get him to work for MI6.

"Yes?" he put his foot off of the coffee table and back on the ground._ Great_, he thought, _here it comes._

"Alex, if our assumptions are right--that what is inside Carter is a tracker--that means someone has control of her. Not mentally or physically but it seems like they own her. If so, they will probably get a signal about the device being disabled and possibly try to retrieve her. I mean she is technically their property."--Alex bit his tongue, he really wanted to say something, but it was four types of inappropriate for the woman--"If so she is not going to be safe by herself on the streets. And I can take a wild guess that she is _not _going to stay here with us."

Alex chuckled. Even he could agree with that.

"So, during the meantime she needs to be protected. Until we figure out exactly what needs to be done and who it is that is tracking her. So we--"

"--were wondering if _I_ could be her guard?" Alex finished, "Not to be rude--or maybe I do--but I was not planning on leaving her here. There was not a cell in my brain that would accept the fact of leaving her with you."

Mrs. Jones smiled, "Thank you. We knew you would not refuse. Alan--err, Mr. Blunt, said that you would be best suited for the job."

_He's still living? _He would've honestly thought that he would've been retired or something. Not still working. He seemed so…insipid.

"Well--" he started to talk but Mrs. Jones interrupted him again.

"But there is something I will tell you." her face seemed grave yet determined, just like when he was given a mission both she and Blunt knew he would reject; he didn't like it, "In about three weeks, or even to a month, we will no longer need you to guard Carter. We need her to be here in MI6 for the remaining of whatever time we need her."

"To do what?" he snapped.

"Just questions that need to be asked that she can answer."

"Questions?" he didn't believe, he said the word with cold sarcasm, "Somehow I get the feeling that your 'questions' will take the toll they usually do and turn into some experiments you expect to perform on her."

"Not expect, Alex." she stated, "_Will_ perform on her. Her DNA is something special.

"In the meantime--until Carter has healed from the operation and is well enough to leave--you will stay here in the building."

"I will--what?!"

"We've made arrangements and tomorrow and until further notice you will be down in the hospital for an emergency. I am sure Miss Tina Walker will be fine with it."

Alex closed his mouth. They really did stick their nose where it shouldn't be. "So I'm staying here tonight?"

She nodded and smiled, "Yes. In three hours you can see Carter. We've got your clothes in the room you will be staying in and it should be your size."

"_Joy._" he said sarcastically. He began to get up and did his best to ignore the throbbing pain that was in his legs and lower half.

"Priscilla is outside she will show you where your room is." Mrs. Jones told him, extending her hand to the side like an arrow.

He nodded to her then began to walk out. He saw the nurse standing there and smile at him. He smiled back. She walked in front of him down the hall and into the elevator. Alex followed her. By the time they reached the room he had gotten so confused with the twists and turns he just decided that it would probably be best if he never left his room.

"I made sure they actually got you something comfortable and not scratchy like they usually do." Priscilla said as she showed him the bed sheets and clothes he was given. The room was small, only a twin bed, one chair, a wooden table and a dresser fit in it without overcrowding the place. The bed sheets were actually soft, the clothes seemed comfortable enough. He went over the small door on the other side and found the bathroom. It was like a tiny apartment. He actually liked it. Besides the lack of color on the walls. There were no windows so he knew it would stay like this for a while. On the wooden table there was a lamp and telephone. He had his own his pocket.

"When the little girl's out of surgery I will have them call you and you can go to her room to see her." Priscilla told him.

He turned to see the small Spanish woman leave and called, "Thank you."

She turned to him and smiled, "You're welcome." She closed the door and left.

Alex sat on the bed, thinking about everything Jones had told him. He knew for a fact who the tracker belonged to. It was Scorpia. He knew he would protect Carter for a good while. He just hoped that neither MI6 or Scorpia took her away from him again

* * *

2 a.m.

Alex sat at the side of Carter's hospital bed. She looked so peaceful and still…harmless. Her stark black hair was laying idly on the pillow, shaping her oval face elegantly, but her almond skin color was pale. She had an IV in the crook of her right arm, the drops from the small clear bag seemed so loud as the quietness of the room was almost numbing. The white cover barely covered her curvy frame, her arm across her slowly rising abdomen.

Alex leaned his elbows on his knee and rested his chin on his hands. He just sat there. Staring. Looking. Just to see Carter, laying there, peacefully, calm, serene. As he saw her sleeping he couldn't see the corruption in her as she slept, he couldn't see the assassin that had tried to kill him only four hours ago. It was like that attacker, that girl, that assassin was a whole different person. He only saw the young fourteen year old girl he fell in love with nine years ago, the girl who had saved him, gave her life for his; the girl that was hard core on the outside, but complete mush--as she had put it long ago--on the inside.

Was that girl still here?

He sighed. _Rider, _he thought, _what're you doing? In three weeks they're coming back for her. They're never gonna leave us, leave _her_. _

He wasn't going to let it though. He couldn't. They wouldn't touch her. She wasn't their guinea pig, she was a person. She was the world's greatest agent. Whatever it took they weren't taking her away from him again. They wouldn't take _anything _from him again.

Gently, he moved a strand of stray hair from Carter's face. He felt her face warm up to his touch and her breathing took a barely noticeable gasp. He scooted his chair closer to her bedside, laying his hand on top of hers.

Carter's eyes heavily flickered open. Her jewel gray eyes seemed to penetrate the dark eyelids that covered them. She looked at the ceiling then to her side, staring straight at Alex. Her face straight and her full light crimson lips slightly opened.

"Carter…" Alex squeezed her hand gently, and leaned over her. He kissed her forehead lightly, his lips lingered on her face as he did and he actually felt reluctant to retract from her.

As he pulled back, he felt her squeeze back on his hand. He leaned down to her and put his nose to hers.

"Alex…" her voice was like a small whisper, but loud enough for Alex to hear. Anywhere, anytime.

"I'm here," he told her.

She sighed and smiled timidly, never letting go of Alex's hand. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, she didn't want to.

He pulled his chair closer to where he could rest his elbows on the bed and hold her hand in both his hands. "How do you feel?" he asked her.

"Like mush." she groaned and chuckled.

Alex laughed softly. She was still in there. That girl was still there.

"But I guess being mush is better than being dead." she smiled again.

"Seeing you as 'mush' is better than losing you again."

She gave out a single laugh, it sounded like a laugh of disbelief more than of humor or happiness. "Losing me," she stated, "might've been the best thing for you, Alex."

"Don't say that!" he told her, "Don't ever say that! I've barely been able to live this long without you. I swear something had to have been itching the back of mind or something to not let me have gone insane without you, that let me know you were alive still even though I didn't believe it myself."

"So because you were in disbelief you went out with chicks like Tina Walters and supermodel Eowyn Fitzgerald?"

Alex froze, his mouth still open. That wasn't what he'd been expecting from a weak woman who'd barely come out of surgery and was still high on meds.

"How did you--?"

"Alex, I know a lot of things that have happened since I…disappeared."

_A lot of things… _The four words sounded like too much knowledge were held in them. He started to fear what was in the next sentence that would protrude from the stricken beauty.

Carter swallowed the lump in her throat, memories running through her mind and cutting her heart all over again. "Including those nights you'd just scream and cry out." she squeezed her eyes shut, "Every time I heard you…every time I saw you come back for 'false love'…every time I saw you grasp at yourself…I felt like someone ripped out a piece of what ever scrap was left of me."

Alex didn't let go of her hand, in fact he squeezed it tighter than when he first had. She had seen all of that. All of his moments; mistakes.

"Carter…I'm-I'm sor--"

"Don't apologize." She cut in, smiling weakly the smile that he'd missed so long.

"So," she went on, "I'm guessing you know why I'm all hooked up to these death traps, huh?" she laughed.

He chuckled. "Jones gave me a little bit of a report. She said there was some kind of tracking device in you and they needed to disable it."

She nodded, "Yes. See…ever since my last mission as a two-way spy, Scorpia just hasn't trusted me the same way. Whenever they believe that I've been gone to long, whenever they get suspicious about my absence, they trigger the device and I either return to HQ or contact them in some way. Either way they keep track of me. Never letting me out of their sight. Like a pet whose owner fears too much to make life at least placid."

"But it's off now, they won't hurt you again."

Carter held onto his hand. A warm feeling in her heart told her she could still trust every word he said, every thing he vowed and everything he told her was true would be honest. She held onto that hope as he said the words she thought could never be completed in her life ever again. _They won't hurt you again. _Those words had been such an impossible task she'd given up hope for them. But the sincerity in Alex's voice gave her the most serene feeling she'd had since she'd been eleven, when the deal had been sealed that she was "government property". It felt…true. _He _was true.

"Cross your heart?" she asked, she knew for a fact that she sounded several years then with those three words than what she was. Three words that held such meaning that it sounded childish but was still powerful.

Alex smiled and leaned over her again, cupping her face with the free hand she wasn't grasping. "Cross my heart." he kissed her forehead.

She was back.

He was hers.

The nights weren't cruel vampires anymore, sucking the life out of every waking moment. They were home. They were together.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!! Sorry for taking so long to upload this chapter, my computer crashed and I had to do all kinds of stuff to get it running again Ugg lol! Please Comment, critiques are greatly, greatly appreciated!! Anymore suggestions for further chapters are also great. Thanks for reading, it means a lot to me. **

**Xoxo, Millie**


	9. Normalcy?

Alex held the door open for Carter as she stepped out of the Royal & General Bank, inhaling deeply then making one of the ugliest faces ever as she smelled the foul scent of a car desperately needing an oil change.

"Who farted? God!" she clapped her hand over her nose.

Alex laughed, "You _would _be the one to say that!" he told her.

"Well!" she laughed, "It stinks!

"So how are we getting to your apartment?" she asked, entwining her arm into his. He placed his hand over her small one and walked down the sidewalk with her by his side.

"Taxi sound okay?" he suggested.

"Sounds fine. But can we get a hot dog? All I've eaten since day one in Hell Hole, or the _proper way to say it_"--she did her best with her fake English accent--"MI6 is absolute tofu crap."

He smiled at her and laughed, "Hot dog it is." he could already see the small hot dog stand that she'd obviously been hinting at and took out his wallet, straightening his dark brown v-neck and keeping his arm around Carter, who didn't reject his moves. She embraced them with as much care and longing as he had to give them.

They'd both been waiting to be in each other's arms for so long. Now nothing could separate them.

It'd been three days since they were at MI6. Today was the day they were allowed to leave. While they'd been there though, Mrs. Jones and the surgeons had both estimated to them that it would take about a week or so before Carter was able to be released. The surgery had taken 3 long hours and it'd been difficult disabling the device, to not touch her nerves or ligament while destroying it took precision the head surgeon, Dr. Hugo Montepris, himself had said, "It took such precise coordination, I myself was overly nervous of hurting her. No medical book teaches how to disable a nerve-connected tracking device!"

Another reason it had taken so long was because Carter's body still retained the Invincible Soldier chemical from ten years ago, and it seemed to have gotten stronger. Scorpia had designed the chemical to where the body would absorb it and it would flow into the blood system and also into the skin cells; once absorbed the body would take the chemical as a self repair system. Whenever the body was damaged it would do just that, repair itself. The chemical was still in Carter so they were constantly cutting away from her side.

But also the chemical helped her heal, she healed in less than half the time they gave her to. Alex still remembered Mrs. Jones face that day when they were asked to leave, she hadn't been thrilled about the idea of them leaving so soon.

* * *

Alex sat by Carter's bed like the past two days before. Not once had he left her side unless it was absolutely necessary, he had to go to the bathroom every once and a while, and Carter couldn't stand it when his stomach started screaming at him "food!". He didn't feel safe leaving her alone in this cold, unpretentious "bank". Another reason was because she asked him to stay, every night to not leave her alone. Every time he went to get up she would squeeze his hand harder or wake up when she was asleep. In her eyes he saw nothing but undesired fear. She never wanted to be alone, but he could see if she had to she would.

He was talking to her at the side of her bed, tracing circles on her soft hand as the hours passed by--he didn't know what time it was or what day it was, MI6 for some reason had refused to tell them. They both jumped when they heard Mrs. Jones come in, her face less than welcoming and "happy". In her hands was the usual tablet that she always scribbled in; this time she looked like she was going to snap it in half.

Like a sixth sense, Alex turned and shifted to a stance that was between them. He didn't realize his protective nature for his loved ones against MI6 until right then.

Mrs. Jones did her best from rolling her eyes at the movement.

"So," she pulled the stool at the corner of the room to where she stood, sat on it, and crossed her legs, "completely _ignoring _my words, Blunt has been talking with the doctors and since Carter has healed so well"--she squeezed the tablet harder--"they've decided you both can leave tomorrow at noon."

That explained the anger management problem.

"Tomorrow?" Carter sounded impatient and unsatisfied. Alex could tell she wanted to leave _now_.

"Yes. No Sooner. No later." Mrs. Jones' voice was stern and upset.

"I suppose that'll do." she gave a wicked half-hearted smile that made Alex want to laugh at Mrs. Jones' reaction to it.

"It _will _do." she told her, "I told _them _it wasn't the best or most intelligent thing to do, releasing you two after only two days here. Absolute stupidity!"

"You're calling dear Mr. Blunt stupid, Mrs. Jones?" Carter asked sarcastically, her voice taking on a little girl tone.'

"Of course not!" she jumped off the stool, knocking it backwards, "I just believe it is beyond ridiculous to let the one"--she raised the tablet at Carter like a pointing finger--"who backstabbed us and almost killed one of our best agents to be trusted enough to be let go to wreak whatever havoc is evolving in your weak little mind!"

"HEY!" Alex slapped down the tablet and stood up, Carter stood on the bed and tried to climb over Alex as he tried to hold her back. It wasn't that hard, she was still at 5' 2" but she was strong for her height!

Mrs. Jones was fuming, any madder Alex could've sworn steam would blow from her ears like a train.

"You know something?!" she wagged her finger like a dagger, "you little b--"

"Stop it!" Alex moved his left leg forward, a sign that although he wasn't doing anything but holding back Carter he would do something to Jones, "Back off!!"

Mrs. Jones face was still wrapped in anger, but as Alex snapped it faded into something of hurt. It was like to disappoint Alex was the worst for her.

She bent down and picked up the notebook, straightening her gray suit jacket and saying calmly, "You are allowed to leave when you please. Priscilla has clothes for you to wear when you leave." she gave a final angry-slash-hurt glance then went to the door, "Good day." she left.

With that choice they chose now. Priscilla brought them their clothes and they went separate ways to shower and change. By ten that morning they were out of the Royal & General Bank's doors.

* * *

Alex dug his nose into Carter's hair as they waited for the hot dogs, his arms around her and her body swaying side to side. Several different, exotic smells entered his nose as he did which was odd since the shampoo and conditioner given to them was blander than a rock. He smelled mango, lilac, some kind of perfume that was gentle but strong. Maybe it was just him fooling himself because Carter could've been covered in mud and smelled horrid, she still would've smelled perfect to him.

"Here you go, pretty lady." the vender handed her the hot dog, fully loaded with relish, mustard, ketchup, onion, and cheese drowning the small dog. Her appetite was the same for sure. "And you, sir." he handed the Alex his hot dog. Relish, ketchup, hot dog, bun. Carter was more of the guy-eater right now than him.

As he handed the vender the money, the man closed his hand and pushed it back, "It's on me." he told him with a smile.

Alex stuttered, "But sir--?"

"Listen, from a total stranger, that girl is absolutely gorgeous. Don't lose her. If you do someone's going to take the chance and take her."

Alex chuckled at the man's words as he remember Tyler and Jake from their mission, both trying to win Carter's heart once Alex had told her and them he was going with the wicked-witch Amy Diputs to the ball and she was "for grabs."

"I will." he put the money into the empty tip jar.

"Thank you."

Alex went back to Carter's side, who was somehow eating the monster-hot-dog in her hand.

"Mmm,?" she smiled as she took another bite, "It's been so long since I've had a good piece of food to eat."

"What've you been eating?" Alex asked, "Do tell." he took his first bite.

"Tofu…rice cakes…vegetables." she gave a shudder as she said "vegetables."

Alex laughed, "There is nothing wrong with vegetables."

"There Is everything wrong with vegetables!" she took another bite, chewed and swallowed, "I'll tell you what food has absolutely no flaw to it."

"Please do."

"Sugar cookies." she smiled dumbly at the thought.

Alex couldn't help but laugh, "Fattie! You're going to die with a cookie in you hand!"

"Hey! Don't be hating on the cookie, mmm-hmmm." she did her best ghetto-black-girl impression by twirling her hip, snapping her finger and pooching her lips.

"Well, cookie-monster, you are going to be living with me for no telling how long and so you _will eat vegetables_."

She rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him. He smiled and laughed at her, eating anther piece of the hot dog.

This was awesome! It had been nine years since Carter had "died", yet when she came back it was like she'd never even left. But the evidence that she had was there, the empty hole inside him that had burned and tortured him so much throughout the day wasn't flaming anymore. He didn't feel the dark, black thorns that raked his heart weren't hurting him at the moment; he felt light, free…happy. He'd missed that feeling for so long. The empty feeling was gone, the burn was gone, the thorns were gone, the torture--gone. The final, vital piece to the puzzle of his life that had been lost was finally found and he actually felt complete.

Carter ate the last piece of her hotdog then crumbled the paper and threw it in a basket full of cardboard by a store window, her aim was perfect. It bounced off the window and hit one of the cardboard flaps, landing in the bow perfectly. Alex tried to do the same. He got the box but his was sloppier. It hit window, balanced on the rim then fell into the box.

"Glad to see you still got it." Carter teased.

"You couldn't tell from our little dispute?" he pointed at his cheek and smiled. For some reason it didn't feel like something horrible to talk about. More like a game she had almost beaten him at.

She put on a sweet smile and held her arms behind her, swaying like a little girl and saying, "My bad."

("Gotta Be Somebody" by Nickelback)

He shook his head and shoved her lightly, she stumbled into an old man and Alex laughed as the man accidentally spilled some of the water he was drinking on her maroon shirt.

Carter apologized to him then looked at herself, "Alex!"

Alex ran down the sidewalk and she chased after him, her quick legs moving fast as she dodged the people on the sidewalk. He turned a sharp corner, almost tripping and was out of sight.

Carter ran all the way to the corner and couldn't find him. She wasn't out of breath but she knew Alex probably was. He may've been buff upper body wise but she was sure he wasn't so much on his cardio.

"Alex?" she walked around the corner he'd disappeared at. She looked around and couldn't see him.

"Boo." the quiet whisper came right beside her ear and scared her, but she still recognized the voice and the fear left before it had even a chance to bubble up.

Alex wrapped his arms around her again and she turned around in them, hugging his waist and pressing herself against him. He kissed the top of her head.

"Come on," he took her hand, "let's go to the penthouse."

"Penthouse?" she asked, as he tugged at her hand and she walked with him.

"You didn't know that?" he asked, shortening his strides to walk right beside her.

"I guess I just didn't realize it." she ran her hand on his long arm from his wrist to his elbow. His hands were so big and warm they felt so safe. She smiled at his touch.

Alex felt like a protector beside Carter. She was so small and petite. He guessed she was at least 112 pounds. Although she hadn't changed so much attitude wise and appetite wise he saw the change in her physically.

Her stark black hair was longer, almost to the small of her back, her legs were longer and more built, her arms longer. Her chest was fuller, her lips were fuller and darker, and her eyes seemed so pale gray they were almost white. Her eyelashes almost reached her eyebrows and her small nose seemed cute on her gorgeous face. She was longer in her torso but he could feel the muscle in her every time he hugged her or tugged on her. She was definitely more beautiful than when he had last seen her. She'd definitely grown up.

One thing that had barely changed though was her height. When she was fourteen he remembered she was five foot exact. Small and surprising everyone every time she beat someone to the ground. Now, he guessed she was probably 5' 2". Still short. But that made her a curious little thing, short and absolutely gorgeous.

He could feel the glances as they walked down the sidewalk, men of every age seemed to take a second glance back at her. It actually made him uncomfortable.

"Let's go ahead and get a taxi." he said to her.

"Do we have to?" she asked, "I mean, is it that far to walk?"

He looked at her then he looked ahead. The Silver Wing was about five miles from where they were.

"Well…" he looked down at her.

Her face was neither pleading or agreeing. It seemed like she would agree with whatever he said. But she'd been gone so long, he didn't want to disappoint her…

"I guess we can walk." he smiled.

She smiled back and opened up her arms, "I mean come on, Rider, it's absolutely gorgeous out here!" she twirled on the sidewalk, her black waves twirling with her. As she did he ran towards her and swooped her up, taking her by surprise and slinging her on his shoulder.

"Alex!" she laughed, she beat gently at his back not able to stop laughing, "Alex, put me _down_!"

He began running down the sidewalk, he knew a place she would love to go to right then. The day was beautiful and he decided they should enjoy whatever they had left of it to enjoy.

"Where are we going?" she asked from her place on his shoulder.

"A surprise." he told her.

"_You're _a surprise." she told him, dangling idly on his shoulder. She could see everyone staring at them. Not chastising with their glances but rather admiring. She didn't feel egotistic about it, but she knew one thing: they couldn't find what her and Alex had as fast as they had.

Carter and Alex were meant for each other. The fact that the nine-year void between them that had happened seemed to immediately disappear as they were together right then proved it ecstatically. She smiled to herself as she felt Alex's strides on the sidewalk.

Alex smiled as he carried Carter on his left shoulder, her legs kicking at him every once in a while but never to hurt him.

He saw the place he wanted to take her just ahead. It was a small park in the middle of London, it had a fountain, a wide lawn and a few benches. It was like a small island in the middle of the busy business world around them. He knew she'd like it.

Carter sighed, "Are we there yet?"

"Almost," Alex told her, slapping the back of her leg.

She slapped his back and began wriggling when he started tickling her knees.

Just like that island of peace in the middle of the busy streets of London, Alex felt like he'd finally found his small island in Carter. He was so happy now. He had who he'd wanted. Life was good.

….for now.

* * *

("Hard" by Rihanna feat. Young Jeezy)

The computer screens in the small room flashed red and black, white letters spelled out "DISABLED" across it. They flashed rhythmically in the large man that sat in front of them in the eyes; like his iris was a different color every second.

This was Jared "Big Man" Grohl. At 6' 9", he was the largest in his position. His position: head of assignments for Scorpia.

His slick bald head shined with the flashing lights like a gloss. His small eyes stared at the screens, increasingly angering him and increasingly testing his patience. He held his hands behind him, holding the long, smooth, black cane in his hands. His thumbs rubbed against the spherical top on it, tracing along the silver imprinted scorpion on it. He wore his white suit prideful and held his head up sophisticated like.

At 235 pounds and the size of a football player he seemed like a large walking threat among the employees around him. Everyone feared him. He knew this.

Grohl tapped his foot impatiently.

"Kellan!" he bellowed, his deep voice like the bass of a low-rider car.

A small young man came out to his side, his blonde hair spiked and his small business suit, a cheap comparison to Grohl's.

"Yes, sir?" he tried to keep his voice steady at the presence of his employer although he felt like utter _mush _beside him, his insides squirming oddly.

"Is there absolutely no trace for the device on Luving?" he asked slowly, his bass-like voice menacing.

"No, sir. It's completely disabled. It appears that whoever destroyed it did their job very well." he chuckled lightly, then cleared his throat to a cough as Grohl stared down at him.

"Mmm," the giant groaned, "get me Anita."

"Anita, sir?" Kellan was shocked.

"Yes, Anita. Is there a problem with that?"

"No, sir! Not at all! I'll, uhm, I'll have her sent up."

"Good." Grohl sat down in the large chair in front of the screens, his back to the flashing menaces, "I need to have a chat with the little Russian."

Kellan nodded and scurried off.

Why would the Big Man be wanting to talk to Anita? Sure maybe she was Luving's back up but still the girl was raw. _Very _raw. He shook off the questions in his head and went to find her.

Whatever the reason, he was sure that if Luving wasn't dead by now she would be after whatever the Big Man was planning.

…But Anita? There had to be some kind of mistake. There just had to be. Sure the Russian was good at the gun, being able to curve the bullet and all that jazz but Luving was still better than her by a high, high, _high _percentage. Her defense and hand skills weren't even close to equal…they were on the other side of equal.

The only thing Anita probably had equal to Luving was her ability of seduction, even then Luving could mesmerize every man in a room with her olive tone, stark black hair and gray diamond eyes while Anita simply got their second or third looks at her white-blonde hair, dark blue eyes and pale skin. Anita was simply the complete opposite of Luving. Beautiful yes, but an opposite beauty. Anita could blend in; Luving could try her best but would never be able to blend in. No matter what.

So what was Grohl wanting with the second-best? What were his plans for her? It didn't make any sense at all!

He shook the questions, comparisons and inside thoughts out of his head again. Whatever Grohl was planning, he was sure it had some twisted ending. He was almost completely positive the ending was as bright as Luving eyes. He knew he wanted that ex-agent, Alex Rider dead just like every other CEO of Scorpia had, but had failed at. Maybe that's what his plan was. Seduce Rider with Anita and kill him. He had a way with beautiful women. But even then, rumor was spread around the corporation that Luving and he had had young love as teenagers. Would that mean she was with him now?

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" Kellan snapped at himself, popping his neck and continuing down the white hall to the elevator.

He needed to stop thinking.

Look at the obvious.

Grohl wanted Anita, he wanted Luving, and he wanted Rider dead.

What would putting an extremely raw assassin in training do with two of the greatest agents in history?

He didn't question it any more. He just went to the elevator and headed toward Anita's room. Silent. But the questions still burning in his head.

* * *

**Reviews appreciated!!!! **

**Sorry I didn't put more songs on the play list for this chapter. But I've been having to update my playlist and I'm finding some really good ones! Hope you liked the chapter, I'll update as soon as possible ****JJJ**

**Xoxo, Millie**


	10. The Past Never Dies

"So…" the elevator doors opened to Alex's apartment, "This is my home." Alex extended his arm outward like a host showing his guest where they would be staying, "Of course you've seen it and…destroyed it." He chuckled.

Carter raised her hand and slapped him, her touch hitting his abs. Of all that had changed over the years he would've sworn her height would've been the first thing to change. Her lips scrunched and her eyes playfully furrowed.

"Don't be such a drama queen," she told him rolling her crystal eyes, "it's not that badly destr-"

She walked through the doorway; her first step sounded loudly as glass crackled and crunched under her size 7 foot. Her entire body froze at the sound. Then she lifted her foot and twisted on the other one to face him, looking a lot like a small girl about to play hopscotch on the sidewalk and just broke her sister's toy on accident. Guiltily, she smiled and said, "Oops."

The three letter word from her mouth made Alex smile. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently, "_You_ are a lethal weapon!" he told her.

She giggled softly, "So I've unfortunately been told." she smiled again at him.

They both laughed then, something, that had been hard for the both of them for 9 years. Something they'd been missing for the last nine years. Alex looked at her deeply as they did, his feelings were bubbling like boiling water in a lidded pot. Pretty soon the lid would need to be lifted before he burst.

He moved a strand of her black hair from her face gently, touching her cheek with his fingertips.

"Do you know how much I missed you?" he asked her quietly, his hand going to the side of her face. She closed her eyes and leaned into it, cupping her hand over his.

"No…" she said, "but I assure you it wasn't as me missing you." she interlocked her fingers with his.

He never took his eyes off of her. He couldn't. It still felt like an amazing dream, like some kind of spell just placed over him, bewitching him. He felt that if he took his eyes off her, if he left her for a moment…she would disappear and this dream would turn into a beautiful nightmare.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

She exhaled sharply and looked down. "I'm positive. I'm sure there were never days when you just wanted to take the knives that are in your kitchen and actually put them to use. Never days when you just felt like giving up and just…stopping and giving up. I had those thoughts…so many times. To just use my training against me." Carter let go of his hand and took a few steps into the house, turning from him and walking slowly, "Can you agree now?"

Alex looked down. He never had felt that depressed, he had never been suicidal. Sure there had been a time when he only found goodness in heroine and cocaine…but never suicide. But after everything he'd done behind Jack and Tom's back he might as well as been dead. Even so. She wasn't true.

He walked over to her and put his hands on her on her shoulders and she leaned her head back to rest near his shoulder, sighing. "No. I can't agree." he put his lips close to her ear, "Because even though I wasn't in that mode, I still had the worst way to deal with my depression. I did drugs…women…too much money. I realized that even though I did all that my true happiness was not in them. And I knew where it was. But I had believed so well that it had been torn away from me. I didn't know where to turn." he turned her around to face him; she stared up at him, tears in her eyes. "We dealt with our depression in different ways. You trained thoroughly, harshly, till you felt like dieing. I just wasted myself, tried to satisfy myself with material things.

"But there is one thing that we can agree to now…"

She sniffled, "And what is that?"

"We found our happiness." Gently, he lifted his hand from her shoulder and brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. He felt her skin warm as he did, her almond complexion turning slightly pink. Carter closed her eyes, melting at his touch, the touch she'd missed for so long. Slid her hands onto his chest as he put both hands behind her head, bringing her body forward and tilting her head back as he closed in to kiss her.

It was like an explosion inside him; an adrenaline rush that surged from his lips to his toes. There was no specific way to describe this feeling as his lips met hers, it was so new and strange but familiar. She wasn't the first person he'd kissed, but he knew for a fact she was the last. He slid his hand down her back and she stood on her tip-toes, a moan escaping from the back of her throat. The feeling wasn't only in him, but also in her.

Carter didn't only feel ecstatic energy that flowed her veins suddenly, she succumbed to it. It was a feeling that had been empty from her for such a long time, and she embraced it freely; she gave in. As her lips twisted with his, she moved her hands to his head and twisted her fingers into his hair. She could feel him start to pull her and pretty soon she wasn't on the ground anymore. Alex had made her jump and as he stood against the wall, he held her by her lower back and behind, her legs twisted around his waist.

After a moment, Carter put her hands on the wall and pulled away from him. It was hard to do so, harder than they both thought. Even so, Alex's hands never moved and their lips were still slightly parted; their faces only inches from each other.

"Wow…" Alex panted, he stared into her face and out of the corner of his eyes glanced at the apartment, "um…I-I think we…should probably,…Probably…"

"Clean?" Carter's voice was just as breathless as his.

"Yes," he cleared his throat, "so no one…suspects…anything."

She chuckled slightly but got closer to him again, "Right."

Alex began to kiss her again when the intercom near the elevator buzzed and scared them, he dropped her and she backed away from him. They looked like two children who had just done something wrong and were afraid they were going to get caught.

Alex cleared his throat again and went to the small machine, pressing the button to answer, "Ye-Yes?" his voice cracked nervously and he cleared his throat for the third time. Carter laughed at him, covering her mouth to quiet her giggle.

"Is this a bad time?" Jake's voice asked over the intercom.

"Well, no-actually yes, I-"

"Well there's a Mr.-HEY!" Sir you cannot-!" Jake sounded like he was grappling at his desk with someone. For a still moment Alex's chest tightened, he felt his hands start to shake. Had Scorpia already figured out where Carter was? It'd only been three days! It couldn't have been that quick for them to-

"Sir, you cannot-HEY!"

"Alex, mate!"

More than relief washed over him as he heard Tom's voice over the intercom.

"Who's that?" Carter asked quietly, then cussed as she made the loudest noice ever from stepping on the broken glass once again.

"Hey what was that?" Tom asked.

"Sir, can you stop-!" Jake was still fussing with him

"NO! Can you stop?" Tom yelled at Jake, "Alex, can I come up there already? This little munchkin won't let me near anything!"

"And you are setting a prime example for why I won't!" Jake snapped.

As the two argued, Alex looked over to Carter and mouthed, "Tom."

She seemed to think for a moment, but then shook her head vigorously and mouthed, "Not now."

Alex bit his lip as he looked around at his apartment. Honestly, it looked like some lunatic ex of his had come and had something against him still, taking it out on his apartment. There was no sensible way to explain to Tom this destruction. Even though Tom was pretty good with the inexplicable and abnormal. Still he couldn't take the risk. He'd have to clean it up himself so no one would suspect anything. The maids would probably freak out and try to file a police report.

But right now his problem was that Tom was downstairs with Jake and wanted to come up!

"Will you-I am trying to talk to my best friend!"

"And I am trying to get my desks intercom back from you! Just drop it!"

"You drop it!"

"No, sir, you drop it!"

"I said no!"

"And I said yes-DROP IT!"

Alex walked over to Carter, "What'd you want to do? Tom's down there and if he sees you well…he'll be able to take a quick guess at who you are. There's no denying it."

Carter chuckled.

"Um…" she looked around then ran to his room quickly, grabbing one of his black hats, then flipped her hair to the side. She grabbed a piece of glass and cut her jeans, ripping the knees and then slitting her shirt to wear it was pretty low, "I don't think I look the same right?" She twirled around once for him.

He laughed, "No, no you don't. Just mysterious which might catch Tom's attention."

"It won't. I have an idea."

"But you need to get out of the building. If he comes up I'll get a good lie but you can't be up here with me."

Alex grabbed his wallet then snatched a few cash bills. Most of them hundreds. Then he went to his room, pulled out the nightstand's drawer and pulled out a cell phone.

"Here, you need something to wear besides that one outfit." he told her, smiling and kissing her forehead, "Here's the cell phone just in case you need to call me."

"But what if I get caught?"

"I don't think you will. If Scorpia hasn't gotten here yet than they're not gonna come for the rest of the day." he looked at her then, his hands on her shoulders. No. He couldn't do it. He was putting her in danger. "No. I-I can't, no you're right you'll be caught."

Carter rolled her big eyes, "I was being sarcastic. I'll be fine!" she went to the elevator and pressed the button then motioned for him to go, "You first. You can distract Tom while I get out of the building."

"Are you positive?" he asked stepping into the elevator.

"More than positive if there is such a thing." she pushed him in gently, smiling.

He kissed her sweetly on the lips then pressed the button for the doors to close. As they did his foot began to tap uncontrollably. He watched the numbers count down slowly. 28...27...26...25...24...23...22...stop. A woman got in the elevator, she was old, she seemed fragile like a porcelain doll. She smiled then her smile turned into a bitter look of disgust.

Alex didn't get it. He turned from her then looked into the reflecting wall beside him, almost letting out a gasp. His hair was ruffled, his V-neck shirt was twisted, and on his face was smeared pink lip gloss. He wiped off the stuff with his shirt, then slicked back his long hair.

"Good day, Mr. Rider." the woman told him, never looking at him but rather at the doors.

"Good day, Mrs. Cox."

14...13...12...11...10...9...8

"You know," she began, "I never believed those rumors that go about the building about you. Bringing in women at all hours of the night. Nope. But um…"

4...3...2...1...

"Unfortunately, you proved my beliefs wrong."

The doors opened and the women left with a sneer, her fur coat ruffling behind her.

Alex looked at her oddly as she left. _Well at least I can get actual humans on me._

"I said give it to me!" Jake snapped.

"Well come get it!" Tom taunted, holding up the name plate from Jake's desk. Jake jumped and jumped for it.

"Honestly, you two?" Alex walked over to the desk and looked at them.

They both snapped their heads toward him.

Tom dropped the name plate and went over to Alex's side. "You might want to train your munchkin a little better." he told him. Jake put down the name plate violently, throwing Tom a look that could kill.

Alex rolled his eyes. "What did you want, Tom, that you would fight over the _intercom_?" he turned sideways so he could see the elevator out of the corner of his eye. He could see the buttons start to light as the shaft went back up. He needed Carter to get out of the building. If he could get her out then it would be a lot easier to explain the apartment than with the one responsible for it standing right in the midst of it. That just wouldn't go well in _several _ways.

"Mate, it's Thursday," he put a hand on Alex's shoulder, his back to the elevator, "what have we been planning since forever to do this Thursday?"

The lights to the elevator were already lighting up as the shaft came down. And Alex couldn't think straight! What were they supposed to do today? It was Thursday for crying out loud! It wasn't routine.

Tom rolled his eyes, "What part of that did you brain shut down?"

The Elevator reached the lobby.

"Um…the first part?"

The doors opened.

_Don't turn around, don't turn around, don't turn around!_

Tom rolled his eyes, "That new movie that came out, 'Fierce Heart'? Supposedly it is a good as 'Brave Heart', might as well have stolen the title. Only one word difference."-he rolled his eyes again-"We have our tickets to watch it tonight at seven?"

Carter tipped her head as she walked out of the elevator, she threw a smile at Alex and slipped out the front door.

Inside and out, Alex sighed and finally relaxed.

"Did you hear anything that I just said?" Tom snapped.

"Yes, yes, I-Um. I don't think I will be able to go tonight."

Tom's face was almost disappointing, his now-medium brown hair fixed in a faux-hawk seemed like a waste. "Why?"

"Well…"

"Does this have anything to do with Monday?"

Alex's brain froze…again, "Monday? What do you know-_mean_"-he corrected himself-"about Monday?"

"I know that for the past 3 days you haven't been answering your phone, you haven't been home and that _now _you don't want to see 'Fierce Warrior' which was _your _idea in the first place! What happened? Is it _them_?"

Whoa.

Alex's brain unfroze. Tom was _that _observant? The boy didn't know right from left or black from white! Yet he got somewhat of what had happened? Figured out that MI6 was apart of it?

"Why-why would you think it's them?" he stuttered, folding his arm and holding his chin with his hand.

Tom sighed in annoyed exasperation, "Because, Alex, every time something goes wrong it's always them. For the past few years it's been…relatively perfect and we haven't had a problem. What're they doing?"

Crap.

Alex sighed. He couldn't hide anything from Tom, why try? Honestly? It was a fail.

"Okay, um," he spun Tom around and shoved him towards the elevator, "My apartment will explain everything."

"How will your apartment-?" Alex shoved him inside.

"Trust me, it will. The past never dies."

Carter picked up a dark purple buffalo-plaid shirt off the rack. She looked it over and decided that she liked it. Then she saw a bright neon green shirt and was attracted to it like a magnet. The assassin in her quickly died to be replaced by the neon-obsessed girl inside her…for now anyways. It was a long shirt with short, short sleeves, practically a tank top with a V-neck that had silver metallic stars bordering it. She put the hanger even to her shoulders and rolled her eyes: the bottom of the shirt reached the middle of her thighs when it _should've _reached her hips.

_I had to be this freaking short! Really? Really. Fail. _

Oh well. She looked around and found a black belt with a silver ribbon running through it, like a corset at the front of it.

She'd been in this store for about twenty minutes. It was called "Le Femme Fatale", by walking in it she was making the name ironic, but it was a pretty neat store. IT had pretty much every style she liked. Ironic. Again. Fail.

The store was about 4 blocks from the Silver Wing. Not too far just in case Alex needed her to come back for proof of his "explanation". She only hoped he wouldn't necessarily need it.

She picked up the belt and slung on her arm with the purple shirt, and the green one. Then her eye got caught on some faux-leather leggings in the corner. She walked over to it and looked it over. _Hmmm…Cute. _

As much as she didn't want to go back to the Silver Wing, she still wanted to go back to Alex. They'd been separated for nine years and when they finally came back together they were separated again. Ugh. Life was frustrating. To her anyways.

She grabbed the leggings and kept looking around, humming along with the song on the store's speaker, "Rude Boy" by Rihanna. She really liked it for an old song. It came out six years ago but it was still amazing,

She had a flashback in her mind to when she was sixteen , listening to the radio, trying to make herself know she still had something of normalcy in her even though she for a fact that she wasn't.

Even so, she still enjoyed the song.

Stifling a yawn, she ran her hand through her hair, fingering the ends of her long black locks, but stopping when she heard a knock on the window panel behind her. She turned around and saw three men standing out. Two whistled and winked, walking away; the third swatted at the air and yelled, "Baby, let me bang you up!" and walked away.

Carter did her best to hold back her temper. She spun around and vigorously looked through the clothes racks, accidentally breaking on of the hangers. She growled in herself. Everywhere, every man was alike. Rude disgusting just plain-UGH! _Paris, London, Brazil, Texas-everywhere! The exact same way!_ She thought. She hated it. Right then she wished anything to have a black hoodie and just pull it over her head. TO just be _invisible_. Well, as invisible as she could be.

Quickly, she went to the dressing room and tried on the clothes she'd picked out. They all fit nice and decided to buy them. She went over to the cashier and paid for it, keeping on the purple buffalo-plaid shirt instead of the one MI6 had given her.

"Can I ask you something?" the cashier girl suddenly asked, her voice high-pitched and very child-like as she rang up the green shirt. Maybe it wasn't so sudden. TO carter it probably was because she was in her own world thinking about Alex.

"Yes?" she took out a bill and began to twist it in her fingers.

"Do you have contacts or are those your natural eyes?"

Carter's body relaxed a little, though it wasn't noticeable. For a moment she'd been semi-suspicious about the little blonde girl's words. Many times people had had things to say to her and they were always in code that turned out to be a message from Scorpia and most of them would start with, "May I ask you a question" however altered it might've been every time.

But this was a normal question from a normal person which wasn't normal for her because she wasn't exactly apart of the "normal" person's normalcy. She had her own version of normalcy.

"They're natural." she told her politely with a smile, taking her bags and change as the girl handed them to her.

"You sound so disappointed?"

Really? She hadn't meant to.

"Well…I guess I just wish I just had some less conspicuous eyes, like brown or maybe even dark blue."

"Really? I swear, everyone who has the pretty eyes wants the ugly ones and everyone who has the ugly ones wants the pretty ones!"

Carter chuckled, "I guess we're just never truly satisfied."

"I guess."

Carter nodded with a smile and walked out will all her things.

Her own words rang in her ears as she walked down the sidewalk, passing the clothing stores and boutiques. _I guess we're just never satisfied. _But it was the truth. Many times she'd been unsatisfied with what she had, so many freaking times! Even now she wasn't satisfied. She didn't want to be protected, she didn't want to put anyone in danger just for her. She just wanted to be _her_. Just to be with Alex and not have to worry about the outside world or having to sleep with one eye open. Just Cassandra Yessenia Luving. _Me_.

A revving motorcycle disrupted her thoughts as it roared on the street.

_Really? Oh come on, you show-_

She froze as the black-clad driver came and stopped by the curb of the sidewalk; by her.

The rider straightened out of his crouched position and snapped up the visor to his helmet, displaying stark, overt brown eyes that pierced her gray ones as they came into contact with each other.

"Jarrett…" the name was a whisper as it escaped her lips.

The motorcycle hummed underneath him as he sat on the curb, waiting.

"Get on, Luving." he snapped, his voice dark and quietly thundering.

Carter straightened her lips to a thin line and stood straight. "No." she said, her voice quiet enough to where no one else hear dher but he did loud and clear.

His eyes took a smart-aleck glance at her then she could see them upturn from a smile. He laughed, menacing. But not to her. She had never put up with his bratty attitude.

He pushed down the stand on his motorcycle and got up, towering over her by a menacing 6' 3". Still Carter, even though she had to look up at him, stood stern, clenching her fists until her nails were digging into her palms.

What did Scorpia want now? They were _not _taking her back now.

"_Get on the bike_." he snapped again.

Carter chuckled, "In case that little pile of mush in your head missed it the first time: _no_."

Jarrett chuckled, never taking off his helmet but his eyes burning with impatience. "Must we really cause a scene? I really don't want to have to force you to do something so simple."

"You won't have to. I said, _no_." she turned around and began walking away. But Jarrett grabbed her by shoulder, stopping her.

Fortunately, everyone passing them kept walking, oblivious to what was going on between two criminals in one of the most dangerous crime organizations in the world. Only a few took a second glance when Jarrett got close to her and bent to whisper, "Bad time to come unprepared."

A gun clicked as he dug it into her side inconspicuously.

_Crap._

He was right. She had no weapons, no defense. Nothing but her hands. But that would cause a scene and blow their cover. This wasn't fair! She wasn't ever caught off guard, she was always the one with the advantage and now…

_Fail, Luving, fail._

"_Get. On."_

Carter sighed sharply and spun around.

"My bags?" she lifted up the clothes she'd bought, tilting her head and her hip.

Jarrett had already slipped the gun back on the holster under his arm and rolled his dark eyes.

"Quit stalling." he grabbed her by the forearm and began to pull her, but she jerked away and kicked his shin.

"Chill, bro!" she got on the bike, looping her bags under her arm like a purse.

Jarrett sat in front of her and kicked up the stand, revving the engine loud to where it vibrated vigorously underneath them.

("Hearing Damage" by Thom Yorke)

"What no helmet?" she asked sarcastically.

"After the denial you gave me four months ago"-he snapped down the visor-"_your safety_ is the last thing on my mind."

He twisted the gas and the black motorcycle jerked off, screeching as the tire rubbed against the black top in an attempt to catch up with the rim. Carter felt the impact of the slapping wind even though she had her face behind Jarrett's back. She could feel how the bike went faster and faster, all the sharp twists and turns and car honk that faded from sound as soon as they were made. Everything was a shocked blur, every light and blinker around them a colorful streak in the slicing, heavy wind. She'd seen so many red lights blur by she was sure they'd passed more than either of them could've counted.

What was going on?

She'd always known Jarrett ran the fast lane, did everything blindly, ignoring all directions and jumping in the water when he didn't know the depth. A lot like her. Only stupid, selfish, ill-willed and inconsiderate. She had a really good long list of every single flaw in him despite his…somewhat…good looks.

Alright, alright! She had to admit it! As much as she hated him with every fiber of her being she had to admit…he was hot. Severely hot.

Suddenly, Jarrett jerked into tan alley sharply, his end fishtailing and screeching as he pulled the brake violently and twisted the motorcycle around. Carter's head hit his back hard as he did and she almost fell off the bike from his sharp turn. She was mad.

"What the freaking heck, man?" she leaped off the motorcycle, throwing down her bags and stumbling on the ground. Her head was buzzing and ringing and her neck had a crick in it now.

Jarrett laughed, taking off the helmet and kicking down the stand, straightening his black, vintage leather jacket.

"Harsh," he said, sweetly but darkly, "after a rush like that I'm amazing." as he spoke, he walked towards her and now he shoved her against the dumpster. But not completely as she shoved his back.

Carter glared at him. He really, really, annoyed her right now.

Jarrett was twenty years old, yet he still acted like a sixteen year old on crack. His black hair was styled into a faux-hawk but sometimes, whenever he didn't feel like fixing it, it would dangle in front of his eyes. He had olive colored skin, a little lighter than her own with an athletic body that was working out two hours every day. His full lips were always in a mischievous smile and his eyes were mysterious, dark brown.

(Yeaaah…Taylor Lautner should pop in your head right now.)

Everyone supposed the two to be either siblings or lovers. They seemed similar and was to get along, when really though they're attitude on caution was the same their attitudes consistently were not. At times she had wanted to just punch those pretty full lips into the back of his pretty face and tear off his eyebrows with hot wax. Yep. He was annoying.

"Amazing is your antagonist, you little beyo-"

"Nu-uh," he put a hand on the dumpster beside her face and the other played with the short strand of hair near her neck, "why are you so rude?"

She slapped down that hand, practically punching it in the veins. As much as Jarrett held back his curse, he could avoid shaking his hand fiercely from where it hurt.

He chuckled, "Feisty still, are we?"

"More like annoyed." she corrected, she could see him closing in on her slowly, "What do you want, Jarrett?" she snapped.

He laughed, "I missed you, babe-"

"You missed your mom too but did you visit her? I think not."

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Luving, don't act like you ain't feeling me." he ran his finger down her arm, fingering the thin material of her shirt.

"No acting is needed." she slapped down his hand again, this time pinching his knuckle.

"You didn't say that our first time in Paris when we went to that hotel," he put his lips to the rim of her ear, "or the second time when we were in the Tower of Pisa," he kissed the top of her neck; she shoved him in the chest but he shoved her back, pressing his body against his, "or all the years in our dorms."

"Get the freak off of me!" she hit his shoulders with her hands but this time he grabbed hers and slammed her against the dumpster's metal surface, hitting the back of her head to where she gritted her teeth.

"Now then," he slipped one hand down her back and the other tangling in her hair. She put her hands on his chest and placed her left foot flat against the dumpster, a defense stance that she had created but he had not yet discovered, "You were right. I didn't come all the way from Barcelona just because I missed you even though I-"

"What the heck do you want?" she snapped severely, she really felt like just whacking his head off.

He smiled, his eyes burning with a mixture of impatience, desire and mischief, "Grohl wanted me to give you a message. And I wanted to give you one also." he slid the hand on her back down her spine, grabbing her butt. She pushed herself into the dumpster, smashing hand. This kid wasn't slick. "OW!" he pulled out his hand and shook it, placing it on her leg as he got closer to her. Maybe he wasn't slick, but he was consistent.

"Grohl said stop lingering on the kill. He doesn't know exactly where you are or what you're doing. He just knows Rider is still alive and your chip is disabled. Care to elaborate information on why this is happening?"

"I'd rather stab my heart than to 'elaborate' anything with you."

Jarrett squared his jaw, "Fine then." he slid his hand down into the inside of her thigh, his fingers twisting to find the zipper of her skinny jeans. "Now, _my _message"-he found them-"is a little more…_personal_." he pulled them down quickly and tugged at her pants to come-

Carter kicked up the leg that was bent, hitting him directly in between the legs. As the impact came and he began to double forwards she shoved his shoulder and lashed out with her right leg, kicking him in the chest and chin.

Jarrett fell backwards, holding back his yells as he held onto whatever "manliness: he still had. Carter stepped over him, zipping her pants and grabbing her shopping bags.

"You may be my partner and you may've been my plus one whenever we got bored." she told him, "But remember, I called the shots in our assignments and you were my booty call." she heard him groan as he lay there in the alley, stuck in the fetal position. "And one more thing: tell Grohl to chill. He'll see what happens."

She turned around and walked away, looking like nothing ever happened as she walked on the sidewalks.

_God,_ she thought,_ the past _never_ dies._

**

* * *

**

Lol yes, yes, I know! Taylor Lautner as Jarrett? What? Really? Really. Haha! I've just been thinkning about the right person for such an interesting person as Jarrett and I just thought immediately of Taylor. Even though you know he's always played the "good, sweet, nice boy" and I just thought of a way to really bring out his "dark" side lol if there is one! ;) As always, PLEASE COMMENT! Necessary and appreciated

** thanks!  
****Xoxo, Millie**

**P.S. I'm making a video to introduce you to the characters of Black Rose as I see them. It will be placed on Youtube and so far it'll show Alex, Carter, Jarrett, Anita, and Tom. But if anyone wants to see anyone else of the characters please notify me and I will consider it :)**


	11. Payback

"Okay so…let me get this straight." Tom said, trying to conclude everything that Alex had told him in a quick non-weird summary. If that was even possible, "On your last mission, they gave you a partner_…"_

Alex nodded for what seemed the millionth time. Usually Tom was really, really, really good with weird. "I'm a spy working for MI6 and so was my family" didn't freak him out or "I got a bullet wound from my last mission because the world's biggest crime organization now has something against me because my Godfather was one of their best agents" didn't either. Yet when he told him what was happening right now he somehow almost busted the little vein in his forehead from thinking about it too hard.

"And you guys went to France on your little 'job'…" Tom paused, gathering his thought yet again, "and when the mission was almost over she turned out to be the bad guy you were chasing, right?"

He nodded, pouring himself some whiskey into a small glass. The three cubes crackled at the bottom of the glass as the golden liquid dribbled in slowly. He took a small drink of it then swished it around in his glass, the cubes tinkling against the sides of the crystal glass.

"But when they captured you-because she was helping them-she had a change of heart..? And she let you go…?"-nod-"Then when you guys were about to get away because the place was exploding, you were both dangling on a rope…and MI6 tried to pull you out…but she didn't want the rope-"

"Cord."

"_Thing _to snap so she let go to save you…?"

"Yes." he took another swig of the whiskey.

"So she was dead. She died. Finito. Gone."

"Yes, yes, and yes."

"_But now_…" here's where he had trouble actually grasping the idea, "she didn't really die. She came back, tried to kill you here"-he stepped over the picture frames on the ground as he made his way to the torn couch-"but she didn't. And you both went back to MI6 because she was in pain and _now_ you are _babysitting_-"

"Guarding."

"_Her_?"

"Yes. See I knew you would get it." He tried to force a smile.

Tom gave a fake laugh, "Ha ha. Funny, Alex! Listen, I grew up with you and you are my best mate but there is no honest to God way that I can accept this without getting weirded out!"

"And why not?" Alex slammed the glass down on the counter.

"Wh-Wh-WHY?" he jumped up, almost pulling out his now-brown and blonde hair with his fingers, "Be-Why-Oh I don't know! Maybe because the other stories you told me were about you almost getting killed, not some chick that was your lover-slash-enemy that died for you nine years ago then came back to life and tried to kill but is now being protected by you!"

"She didn't come back to life-"

"I know, I know, she never died!" he slapped his hips, "But, Alex, what kind of girl causes this"-he waved his arms around the room-"amount of damage in a fight?"

Alex laughed, "One that's been trained to kill since she was twelve."

"And you're letting her _sleep _here?" he fell back onto the couch and covered his face with one of the black pillows, "Honestly, mate, if you ask me this is a _bad _idea."

Alex rolled his brown eyes, "Would you quit being so dramatic? I know Carter. It is not like I just met her a week ago."

"No, no, not that at all…just found out she was _back _among the living _three _days ago!"

Alex groaned, "Mate, relax!" he went over to Tom and put his hands on his shoulders firmly, "Look, I know it sounds far-fetched and, yes, somewhat scary. But trust me when I tell you she is not dangerous to me."

Tom opened his mouth like a gaping fish and waved his arms around, pointing at everything in the house.

"Not to _me_. Maybe to everything else around her."

"What? I'm part of that everything!"

Alex laughed and punched him in the arm, "Just relax. She won't hurt you. Trust me. Carter is…" he faded into a thought of Carter, "Not dangerous."

"But she is."

"In a way. If you're her enemy that is."

Tom inhaled deeply, grabbed his hair once then slumped back on the couch, not saying another word. He wouldn't! This was nonsense!

"So I'm guessing 'Fierce Warrior' is out of the question for tonight?" Tom asked, sounding less weirded-out and more like himself again.

Alex smiled, looking at the watch on his wrist, "It's like 3:45 right now and the movie starts at like 7-"

"But Braveheart comes on at five because supposedly Fierce Warrior is better than it and they want to prove it."

"And I'm guessing you want to watch that one too?"

"Heck yeah! Plus with a scare you just gave me that will possibly make me fear every other woman I have a date or night with I _deserve _to watch Braveheart!"

Alex rolled his eyes, "Alright well who all did we finalize that would come with us?"

Tom went through the names, using his fingers as a list. They had invited Ben, the amazing painter at the museum who was also one of the best racers Alex had know, Chris the architect who was pretty cool to hang out with for being twenty-five, Angela and Jerry, Jerry because he was one of Tom's best mates and Angela because she was his wife.

"And they're all still coming?"

"Yep. Everyone of them. Plus, Ben and Chris said they were bringing some chicks with them and I invited Sally, the cute secretary that sometimes steps in for your little munchkin one at the lobby. So…I think you'll be the only one without a date." he punched his arm lightly, "Sorry, mate."

"Did you just miss everything that we talked about?" Alex asked sarcastically, "I have a date! Carter, you moron."

"Wait, you're bringing her to the movies? Why?"

"Well if she says yes then I will and if not then I'll stay home. And because she's living with me and I really want her with me, problem?"

Tom groaned again, "As long as she doesn't kill anyone, I'm good."

Alex rolled his eyes again, "So freaking dramatic." he whispered as he went over to the counter and drank more of the whiskey.

"What'd you say?" Tom hollered.

"I said she'd be fantastic." he rolled his eyes _again_.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

Alex rolled his eyes and paced around the kitchen patiently, and Tom noticed.

"What're you waiting for?" he asked.

"Carter to come home." he drank the last of the whiskey, ignoring the fact that Tom was behind him trying to smother himself with the pillow.

_Dramatic. _He wiped out the glass then put it up in the cabinet, dry. He looked around and just then realized the impact of the damage that had been done. The glass from the pictures frames, glass coffee table and television went all the way from the living room to the dining room and into his room. He walked into his room and saw that his own television was shattered from where he had slammed Carter into it and there was a giant gash in the carpet from where the dagger had been jabbed into the floor then kicked across the room.

_Dang, I got a lot to clean up. _He realized, running his fingers through his whitish blonde hair. "Hey," he walked back to the living room where he found Tom sprawled out on the couch with the pillow on his face, "Do you think that a lot of questions would be aroused if I had a maid come and clean this up?"

Tom didn't move, "That doesn't even deserve an answer."

"I'm just saying."

"Besides didn't Carter promise she would help clean it up?"

"Yeah but…" he started dialing on his phone anyway, "Still. It's a lot. Requires the patience that neither of us have."

"Obviously. With a mess like this it was like neither of you could wait to kill or hurt the other one!"

"Will you lay off on that already? Chill! She attacked me, I didn't know who she was and that's the end of it! Get. Over. It."

Tom threw the pillow at the Alex and he threw it, slapping him in the face, "Well, I'm Sor-ry"-he split the word into two syllables-"if the fact that a female assassin is spending the night in my best friend's house freaks me out by a lot!"

"It's Carter!"

"You barely told me about Carter!" he was on his feet now and walked over to Alex near the counter, "It hurt you so much to talk about her back then that the last time you did you got to 'falling' and ran to the bathroom because you vomited. I don't know her! Maybe after I meet her I'll be more comfortable with her staying here than I am right now! I mean come on she-" he paused, then pointed a finger downward, "Does Jack know she's staying here?"

The question caught Alex off guard. Crap she didn't!

"Um…not yet." he spoke to both himself and Tom, "But she will. Trust me she will. I mean I can't hide anything from Jack, not even the supermodels in my house."

"Yeah and you have to consider that too, mate! I mean come on, by having her here it's like you're in a relationship with her and if you're in a relationship with her you can't have other girls with from the club."

"I know what being in a relationship is, I was in one with Keisha and I did just what you told me I couldn't and got caught."

"Clothes out the window?" he sounded more like Alex's best friend and partner in crime right then. Tom got distracted so easily.

"Clothes, key, fish bowl-"

"Is that what happened to Fish?"

Alex laughed. He remembered how he had bought the beta fish because apparently his therapist-darn snitch-told Tom he needed more than just a friend who gave an opinion so they decided to buy him a fish. They'd gotten the bowl and the food and when the time to decide on the name finally came they couldn't think of any, so brilliant-minded Tom had come up with, "Fish." So unbearably creative huh?

"Yeah that's what happened to Fish."

"I thought he died in his bowl…?"

"Not technically…his bowl shattered on the ground and that's when he died. So yes and no."

"Oh." Tom looked sad, "Poor Fish."

_Yes! So easily distracted! _At times Alex thought if he got something shiny and reflected it against the light that he would entertained.

"Okay, well, _anyway, _if the maid starts asking the _wrong _questions to the _wrong _people don't blame me!" Tom snapped, his voice still muffled but clearly frustrated.

"Yeah, 'cause that was the first thing I thought to do." Alex scoffed.

The maid company answered and he gave them his information. As he did, he stepped on the glass then took another step. _Crunch, crunch, crack, crunch. _"Um…they'll need more equipment than the usual."

By now, Tom had escaped off the couch and was in the bathroom. Alex heard him saying something to himself, something about "Dang aren't you a fine mess?" he was hoping they were new corny pick-up lines he had just come up with and was _really _not just looking at himself in the mirror. _Please!_

Before his curiosity could get him to say something, the buzzer sounded and Alex was on his way to the elevator. He slid it open easily, excuses flooding his mind for why his house looked like this; they all flooded as he saw who was on the other side waiting and he smiled.

Carter smiled back and it reached her eyes, "Hi." she said quietly.

"Hi." he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. Carter put her bags down and wrapped her arms around his waist. Instead of bringing her in for a kiss though, he pulled her into him; they stood there, embracing each other tightly and not loosening their grip. She put her ear against his chest, she could hear his deep slow heartbeat as he put his cheek against her hair and inhaled the scent of orchid and vanilla. Apparently, she'd tried on some perfume and he hoped she'd bought it; the smell was so intoxicating to him.

Carter leaned back enough to where she could see Alex's face looking down at her. Dang, why was he so stinking tall? "Did you explain it to him?" she asked, her hand tracing the seam of his V-neck.

He took her hand and played with her fingers, "Yes, yes, I did."

"And…?"

"Apparently," he pushed her gently towards the corner near the elevator, "he's okay with me almost losing my life to a sniper, doing the most insane things as a fourteen-year-old, having the government constantly on my tail and being a _spy_"-he widened his eyes in an attempt at being Tom for a second, making Carter giggle-"but can't get passed the idea that an assassin is rooming with me."

She laughed again and gaped her mouth, "Oh wow! Such a nice way to put it, Rider!" she punched his shoulder.

"I don't see it that way!" he laughed, taking her hands and pulling her away from the door.

"I bet!" She grabbed her bags and swung them on an arm, still holding his hand with the other one.

"Hey, Tom!" Alex yelled as they went to the living room. Carter put her shopping bags on the couch then pushed away some of the glass on the floor to the corner.

"We still cleaning this up?" she asked, a remorsefulness in her eyes.

It slapped Alex. The remorse. He remembered it all too well.

When they had been on their mission nine years ago, he had seen it come and go in her eyes. Whenever they talked about getting around the sewers where the facility was beneath and she'd known the way so faithfully and he'd asked her how she did there it was again, banging on her eyes like a hammer on a door. Whenever she'd allowed them to capture him and torture him and Geiger had told him everything that she'd done, the backstabbing, the kills, the plan, the notes, _everything _it had been there. It been there so strongly then that it was like pressure behind ice that would make her gray delicate eyes explode into a million shards of glass. It had been a sign that she wasn't the good guy. And here it was again. But it couldn't be that same remorse could it? It wouldn't be. He hoped not. Even so, he knew he needed to know where Carter was standing. He knew he still had feelings for her and she for him, but that didn't count for the killer part in her. Was it still sided with Scorpia? Or was it sided with him? She hadn't killed him, she'd allowed MI6 to disable the chip…but did that mean anything?

"Alex? Alex!" Carter's voice snapped him out of his deep thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah! Um the mess…no. I called the maid service and they said they'd send someone here at like 6 or so."

"You sure? It's not risky?" she walked up to him and took his hand.

He chuckled, "I'm sure."

"What?" Tom finally replied back from the bathroom.

"Wow! Took eight years!" Alex yelled, "Get out here and meet someone." he smiled at Carter and she smiled back. Remorse gone.

"Who?" he yelled, suddenly frantic, "The killer?"

Carter tilted her head and rolled her eyes, squaring her jaws. Crap. They hadn't even seen each other and he guessed this wasn't going to be the best friendship. But they could work it out if it got icy…right?

"Tom!" he snapped at him, "Get out here!"

"Alright, alright, alright already!" he came out of the bathroom, "God! The sooner I get this over with the-" his mouth froze when he saw Carter, his mouth, his eyes, his body and his breathing.

Carter's didn't. She tossed her hair and smiled pleasantly, although Alex could tell there was a spat of words that wanted to come out from behind it. She extended her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Carter." he shook it, "The killer." she added sarcastically.

Tom laughed, "So I see." he looked her up and down and raised his eyebrows. Alex's stomach bubbled something hot inside and he shoved Tom's shoulder hard, "Ow! Relax, mate!" he rubbed his arm, snapping out of the trance he'd gotten into while looking at Carter, "I'm Tom."

"So I've heard." she said sharply, her voice still velvet, "You apparently have a pretty vivid imagination for people you don't meet, huh?"

Tom raised and eyebrow and crossed his arms, "And why do you say that?"

"To state the fact that you're a childish neophyte." she said smoothly.

_Aagghh! Beginning of worst friendship ever! _Alex yelled in his mind.

Tom chuckled sharply, "A childish what?" Now Alex was the one almost laughing out. He knew Tom didn't know what "neophyte" meant, it was a big word, and he could tell he was trying to pretend it was offense towards him because he _knew _what it meant. Which wasn't a good act.

"What other impression did you try to cast?" Carter tilted her head again and put a hand to her hip, thrumming her fingers rhythmically.

"Maybe the one that I'm very protective of my best friend, particularly because he's sleeping in the same house as a murderer."

"Murderer?" her fingers thrummed quicker.

"Yes! A murderer! That's what your job is, right?" he snapped; Carter straightened out her lips to a thin line, "What else would you call it? Part-time _reaper_?"

"Oh! Oh yes that's what you'd think, you son of a-"

"_Who wants to see a movie?_" Alex said suddenly, over lapping their argument.

They both looked at him, a fire burning in their eyes that showed they weren't saying all that they wanted to but would if they were left alone. They ignored him though after that second and kept on arguing.

"Look!" Tom finally snapped loudly, "I don't care how freaking hot you are, I don't care if you looked like a _beanpole_, it doesn't make the difference that you could kill my best friend at anytime!"

"Oh, yeah! 'Cause that was the first thing on my mind!" Carter threw up her arms, "I just '_pretended'_ to be his friend so I could do that to him. You're full of bull, Tom!" she yelled at him, "I would never do that to him!"

"But you have! You've betrayed him before and almost had him killed!"

"HEY!" Alex knew the conversation had gone way too far. But, once again, they ignored him.

"That was when I had no choice! You don't know half of what happened!"

"But you still almost killed him when you gave him up! You didn't even _try _to save him until you realized how stupid you were!"

Carter bit her lip furiously, her thrumming fingers finally balled up into a fist. Really? She'd had it today! With MI6, with Jarrett and with this stupid little punk!

"Yeah, yeah that's right!" he sneered, bending down to her face.

"Stop it, Tom!"

"_Hush mode._"

"TOM!" Alex snapped, about to punch him hard in the shoulder.

But before Tom could look at Alex with a response, Carter exploded. With blinding speed, she kicked her leg up, her shin hitting him straight in between the legs, and lashed out with her fist as he crumpled down, hammering him in the jaw. She didn't think to do anything else while she stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door behind, her face contorted in anger and frustration. Alex cringed at the sound and decided on a final thing: his two closest friends-well, one he was still determining but was pretty certain-were now officially each other's archenemies. Bundle. Of. Joy.

Tom stayed crouched on the ground, taking sharp breaths and held a look in his eyes that meant he would _sincerely _kill Carter is he had the chance.

"Really, man?" Alex snapped, "You just _had _to go there?"

"It was the truth-Dang!" he held onto himself as much as he could without making it hurt even worse.

"Yeah but you went too far!"

"Yeah? Well she just showed why I don't want her around here with you! Oh…" he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Still man that was heartless and childish! What else did you expect from your little 'hush mode'? A kick in the balls and punch across the face was her version of a 'fair warning', idiot!" he grabbed him but the arm and pulled him up. He rolled his eyes, then cringed again when he heard Carter kick the door and scream. He groaned, _I _had_ to be the one to take care of the most stubborn people in the world…this is too freaking ironic!_

"Alright listen," he told him, holding him steady as he stood, "once the movie's over you two won't have-"

"WHAT?" they both yelled, Tom shoving him back and Carter bursting out the bathroom, shoving Tom so hard he almost fell back.

"I _am not _watching a movie with him!" she snapped, "I _refuse_!"

Behind her Tom was wanting to land a punch at Carter, his hand shaking and trembling in a fist as he held back.

She spun at him and snapped, "You try anything like that you're gonna meet a few socks of five."

"A few what?"

"A few of these!" she punched straight in the leg, dead-legging him.

"GOD!" Tom yelled out, grappling at his leg and holding back his yell, but his breaths were sharp coming from his nose.

"Can you two stop for a moment?" Alex yelled, "God! You're both worse than Eric and Ella when I have to baby sit them!" Carter crossed her arms and pursed her lips, silencing herself. Tom sat on the arm of the couch, as far from Carter as he could be, "Thank you. Gosh." he felt like a dad, this was ridiculous, "We're gonna go watch the movie. Not only because I _did _promise Tom that I would watch it with him but also because I don't want Jerry and them to get all suspicious that something's going on. They won't care if I show up with you"-Carter-"but they will if I don't go. So please, please, _please, _try to act like you're not gonna kill each other. I don't care if you act like you don't even _like _each other but don't act like you're gonna latch out a knife and stab each other."

"Better check her pockets then." Tom said, looking at Carter. She turned around and squared her jaw at him.

"Tom!" Alex didn't need this in his house.

"Fine." she agreed, "But he's sitting on one end and I'm sitting on the other. You can sit with him if you have to."

"No need." Tom interjected, "I got a date going with me-"

"How much did you pay her to go with you?" she asked, smart-alecky.

"Carter!"

"Why are you such a-" Tom began to say.

"Oh I know you were not about to call me a bi-"

"STOP IT!" Alex was going to pull his hair, "Tom!" he was louder now, "Go downstairs and wait in the lobby!"

"But-"

"_GO!_"

Tom huffed at Carter and stomped to the elevator, pushing the button so hard Alex thought it was gonna pop off. He heard the sliding door slam shut and then heard the elevator start to descend.

"Now, _you_," he looked at Carter.

"_Me!_" she squeaked, "What the heck did I do?"

"What happened to being nice?"

"You never told me to be nice." she stated, crossing her arms and leaning on her hip, "I came in and he called me, 'The Killer'. I thought you were gonna introduce me like your new friend, not the person with the horrible job!"

"I had to explain the apartment!"

"But tell him who I was? What all _did_ you tell him?"

Alex groaned, "Just a brief summary of who you were and what exactly _caused _all this."

She sighed sharply, "_Please, _can I just stay here while you're at the movie?" she grabbed his hand and looked at him with the saddest eyes Alex had ever seen. They were worse that Ella's whenever she wanted something from him her mom had already told her no to.

"Don't look at me like that!" he said, hugging her, "Look, we'll watch Braveheart, then like the beginning of Fierce Warrior and if you still don't want to be there then we'll leave. How's that?"

She looked down and seemed to think about it for a moment, "Sounds reasonable." she decided, flashing his favorite, small smile at him.

He kissed her forehead, "Thank you."

She went over to the elevator and got her shopping bags, heading to the bathroom.

Alex exhaled, relieved, and slumped onto the couch, "Please, please, _please,_ don't let this night be unbearably long."

They ended up staying for the entire movie. Carter ended up really liking it and so did Alex. It wasn't as good as Braveheart but was definitely fighting for it's place as number one.

One thing Alex did not like though was the fact that Ben, Chris, and even married-Jerry would not stop looking at Carter! Really? It was like they had never seen a girl before in their life, they reminded him of those little third-graders that get the amazingly beautiful teacher and they only gaze at them in admiration and love. So at one point of the movie, when he'd come back from getting Carter her popcorn-extra-large tub with extra butter of course, which he watched in fascination as she ate almost the entire thing and only left about ¼ of the food left-he put it in his lap and put his arm around her. She apparently noticed why he was doing it and it made her giggle. She had slouched in her seat and twisted a little so that she could be completely in his arm. That made Alex's day, night-heck it made his night!

He remembered seeing her face and eyes glow as the movie lights flickered on and off with each changing scene, he remembered how her gray eyes had been focused on the detail in the movie and also to the ones around her. He'd seen her roll her big eyes as the couple behind them started giggling, not loud enough to disturb the others but enough that it disturbed Carter's and his highly-trained ears. Right then though, she seemed beautiful, a mixture of several different types of beautiful to be exact. He could see her sincere beauty in the fact that tonight she'd worn no make up, he could see her physical beauty in the fact that she was wearing a black dress that hugged her waist and chest with some red flip-flops, he could see her emotional beauty in that which she longed to cry in a certain part of the movie but refused to; also, though, he could see her dangerous beauty. Even though they were acting like normal people at a normal movie acting normal it still didn't hide the fact that they were two agents for two separate agencies that could be attacked any second. Carter still knew that and he could see how she was on her guard every moment, how she would scan the room every eight minutes and how she positioned herself with Alex so that if they had to run she could grab his hand and he would know what she meant. She was still dangerous in her own way. She was still an assassin.

"See ya, man." Alex said to Tom, taking his hand as if he was going to clap it then sliding them apart and hitting fists together. He opened the door to the Taxi and paid his and Carter's fare for the ride.

"Later, mate." Tom was still upset that Alex had to sit in the middle because Carter was there. He hadn't even wanted Carter there in the first place.

Since they were on the sidewalk curb, Carter bent down to look through the open taxi window where Tom sat. Putting her hands on her knees she smiled and said as sweet as she could possibly make her voice, "Bye, Tom."

He slammed his hand down on the button on the door and made the window go up, his lips pursed the entire time. Carter laughed as he did so.

Alex sighed, "I swear, you two will be the deaths of each other."

She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned against him, "Not mine. But I'm not saying anything about his." Alex grabbed her by the shoulders and held her ahead of him, marching her inside as she laughed loudly.

"Good evening, Mr. Rider!" Jake popped as they walked in. Carter tilted her head to the side with a curious look on her face, the look that meant "What is _this_?" she seemed to be holding back her laugh as they passed him.

"Good evening, Jake." Alex threw behind him as they went into the elevator and the doors shut.

"Is he…?" she asked once they were inside and she was playing with his hands.

"Part of the world of rainbows, I honestly don't know." he smiled and pulled her close to him, kissing her top lip and he felt her bottom one try to get both of his but he pulled away, "I'll tell you for sure I'm not."

She squinted her eyes, "No, just a tease." she smiled playfully.

"Aw, come here." he pulled her in again and tried to kiss her, but she turned around and gave him the back of her head.

"Nope, no can do." she teased.

_Great_, he thought, _payback._

The elevator went to the top floor to his house and Carter slid open the door, taking his hand and pulling him. With the first step she took she stopped, her eyes surprised.

"What is it?" Alex asked, squeezing her hand involuntarily as he looked around the house.

"No crunch!" she exclaimed, looking down at the floor.

Alex looked down then around at the penthouse again. She was right! Everything had been cleaned up, floor, cabinets, picture frames everything! There was no sign that there had even been a fight there in the first place.

"They did pretty good, it's only eleven and they came here at six." she clapped her hands, "Applause for the maid."

Alex shook his head at her and went to the kitchen, grabbing a glass from the cabinet and filling it with water from the faucet. He'd been really thirsty lately. As he took a huge drink he could see out of the corner of his eye Carter trying to hide her yawn and keep her eyes open as she sat at the counter. He chuckled, _Just like a little kid trying to stay up. _He walked over to her and pulled her off the barstool.

"Come on," he told her, holding her up.

"What?" she rubbed her eye and walked with him.

"You can sleep in my room while you're here." he took her to his bedroom door and opened it for her.

"No, I can sleep on the couch! Don't do that." she tried to pull away to go to the couch but he insisted.

"Now what kind of gentlemen would I be if I made you sleep on the _couch_?"

"An unusual one?" she smiled sleepily then yawned again.

He chuckled, moving a strand of hair from her face, "Come on, go to sleep. U can use one of my shirts to sleep in, I'm pretty sure the shorts are too big."

She smiled, "Thanks." her eyes glowing even though they could barely stay open.

He put his finger under her chin and tilted her head upwards, bringing her lips into his as he kissed her for the last time that day.

"Good night," he told her, his voice quiet and soothing, almost like velvet. He didn't see it but, it made Carter shiver and _not _want to go to sleep.

"Good night, Alex." she said, equally smooth. She squeezed his hand and went into the room, shutting the door behind her.

Alex smiled at himself as he turned off the lights and locked the door to the elevator. He grabbed a blanket out of the closet near the bathroom and dragged it to the couch, kicking off his shoes and wrapping himself in it in the dark. The only light was the glow from the dining room window from where the street lights were shining in. He slipped off his shirt and threw it on the floor, turning on his back to just look up at the ceiling. Was this really happening?

As much as he had loved the last three days there was something in him that told him this level of happiness wasn't easily reached. At least not by people like him. He hadn't been this happy since he was 14 and his Uncle was coming home from Cornwall to see him and stay longer. But pretty much everyone knew how that had went. Even then he wasn't this happy. It all felt too good to be true, he hoped it wasn't. He hoped this wasn't some kind of dream that he would wake up from and he'd be sweating and unable to catch his breath. He hoped this wasn't just a beautiful nightmare.

For honest, he didn't know exactly where Carter's alliance lied. Sure there was a lot that motioned that she was on the "good" side, if that's what you wanted to call it, but also there was the reason she was even here that motioned that she may not be. He didn't think Carter to be that heartless or cruel that she would backstab him so…but there was a little piece of his head that said she would. He knew she was dangerous, but he also knew she was sincere. She didn't lie. She might avoid the truth now and then but she never lied.

He rolled over on his side and kept thinking about it. He didn't even notice when he slipped into sleep thinking about it.

"…lex? Alex, Alex wake up."

Alex head was foggy when Carter woke him up. He barely saw his face his eyes were so stubborn to open. He did his best and saw Carter staring down into him, her lips slightly open and her eyes looked pleading.

"What's wrong?" he asked, suddenly awake.

She bit her lip and took his hand, "Okay this is the _stupidest _thing that has ever happened to me and I really don't want to do this because I don't get scared easily and I don't know why it's happening to me tonight but it's like-"

"Carter," he cut her off in her babble. She bit her lip again. "Did you get scared in my room?"

"No." she said quickly, "Yes, no I didn't-I don't know. I can't sleep." her voice seemed to go down several ages. She sounded so innocent and scared, he couldn't help but smile.

"Wanna share the couch with me?" he asked.

She smiled back, "Please?"

He got untangled from the blanket and opened it up for her, "Come on, scaredy-cat."

She rolled her eyes playfully and slipped in, her bare legs rubbing against his jeans and her hair slipping on his chest. She was wearing one of his white undershirts but he guessed that his boxers were probably too big for her to wear without them slipping.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it around, but he wrapped that arms around her and she laid on the one that was dangling off the couch. She put her feet between his calves and snuggled in closer to him.

"So what got you scared?" he asked, glancing over at the clock on the wall. Two sixteen a.m. She'd been awake for three hours by herself.

"I don't know…" she said, "it's not the dark or being alone…I don't know what got me so freaked."

"Memories maybe?" he suggested, putting his head close to hers and smelling her hair.

"I guess." she turned around to look at him and pulled her hand into her chest, "I guess just a instinct."

He brushed her cheek gently, he was awake now and so was she, might as well spill, "An instinct? Of what?"

She didn't look at him, "Scorpia." she said so quietly he barely caught the word, "Just…what they would do."

He flinched, "What would they do?" his voice was laced with protection now, he couldn't imagine someone hurting Carter. It took a horrid person to do that.

("Satellite Heart" by Anya Marina)

She still looked down as she talked, she knew this was one of their "conversations" where pretty much everything would be exposed but…it was easy to talk to him, "Well…Alex, I went through a lot of training when our mission ended. Not simple training." she swallowed the lump in her throat, she hated even remembering this, "They thought I was a traitor, and I mean technically I was. I helped you escape and helped bombard the warehouses, so they wanted to make sure that I would never do something like that ever again. One night, um, they…well it was like two weeks after our mission, I was still healing from all the wounds I'd gotten from falling."

"Wounds?" Alex interjected.

She nodded and slipped the blanket down to her thighs, pulling up her shirt to her bra strap. Alex did his best to not say anything as he saw the long scar on her right side that started from her rib and stopped right at her six pack. It was red and silky and looked like a burn, he could see where her skin had repaired itself and sewed itself up. He ran his finger down it and he felt her tighten her body from the touch. He remembered when they had fought and he had kicked her in the side, how she doubled down and grabbed her side in pain. Now he knew why.

"Yeah, I got that one from falling into one of the steel bars that held up the floor, it broke in half and went through there. But I guess when I was falling it pulled down to there." she motioned at her abs, "Then this one," she pulled the collar of the shirt down over her shoulder and showed him her other wound. Alex turned on the lamp that was beside the couch and got up, moving to where she could sit down instead of having to lay down. It was another scar that ran from her shoulder and went down her back, it stopped right under her bra strap, almost meeting up with the first scar. It was almost like a question mark was on her body only they were different colors. This one was gray and rigid and looked even more painful than the first one.

"But anyway," she pulled down her shirt and pulled her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and setting her chin on her knees, "I was just getting over the one on my back but the one on my side wasn't healing as fast. It still hurts like heck and I could barely even breathe back then it hurt so bad. Anyway, one night, it was like 3 or 4 in the morning they came to my dorm and kicked open the door. It scared me so bad I jumped up and crouched on my bed but it was this guy and this girl, they were both wearing mask, and I swore I knew who they were but I never found out. They grabbed me by my arms and started to pull me out but I started fighting them back, I didn't know what was going on. They never said anything, maybe groaned a couple of times from where I hurt them but never a word. At one point she took out a knife, I saw it glint but I was so out of it I didn't see what she was doing until it was in my leg."-Alex clenched his fists-"and then she rammed me in my side and I remember it hurt _so _bad I-I couldn't see, everything was foggy and swirled. They dragged me down the hall because I couldn't walk, she wouldn't take out the knife and then they drug me down the stairs." she sighed sharply, "I just can't believe this is still in my mind, I hate even thinking about this."

He got closer to her, "You don't have to finish it if you don't want to."

She sniffed, "It's alright. Um…" she exhaled and closed her eyes, "They took me outside and I saw Geiger standing there in his little, stupid white suit. He was twirling that cherry wood cane of his all happily when he saw me, his expression never changed. But it did when I finally understood why they'd dragged me out.

"There was this guy, his name was Grohl. He's huge. But he pulled out a gun and put it to Geiger's head. I remember he dropped his cane and backed away, I couldn't understand what he was saying but it looked like he was pleading. I couldn't hear him but I definitely heard the bullet that escaped Grohl's pistol. It hit him straight in the fore head and he fell back, his blood just…it went everywhere. I felt it on my fingers, my face, even my lips." she sighed, "Alex, it was horrible. As much as I hated that man I didn't think he deserved to die that way. It was by surprise. But then Grohl came to me, and I could've sworn that he was gonna shoot me next, but he didn't…he grabbed me by the hair and arm and pulled me off the ground, I was swinging my legs to at least get his elbow so he could drop me, but I was still weak and I couldn't see very well. He told me, 'What an exotic little thing you are.' by now he'd already let my hair go and put me down, but he was holding onto my neck so hard I felt like I was choking. He kept on and said, 'I wonder if _killing _is your only good talent.' I knew what he meant right then and I wasn't about to let him touch me. I got so angry I started screaming at him, cussing him out and kicked him in the stomach and uppercut him in the nose. He let me go and I tried to run back to my dorm, but I already knew I was in for it. Geiger was dead, which meant Grohl was the next executive. Alphabetical order, which meant I was his property now. But still I tried to run, even though there was nose way out. The guy that had dragged me grabbed my arm and slammed me down to the ground, then punched me in the stomach. Then the girl stabbed another knife into my hand when I tried to crawl away so I was pinned to the ground."-Alex had his thumbs on both of his temples, lacing his fingers together above his head as his elbows rested on his knees, he could see what she was talking about all too vividly in his mind-"Then Grohl came over and…well he beat the crap out of me. He kicked me so many times in my side I vomited blood, and not just once, several times. I sincerely wished I was dead right then, death would've been way better than this."

Alex remembered where he was two weeks after the mission, school again just gazing out the windows not even paying attention, thinking what he was going through was the worst pain he'd ever endured when at the same time Carter was being beat to her very core; suffering the most horrid pain imaginable. What had they put her through?

"But that was one time." she let out one solid laugh, "The first time but it wasn't the last. Another thing they did to 'make sure I was on their side' was some martial arts thing that they discovered. Supposedly it helps you concentrate and focus on your chi but…they switched it around to where it was a torture device. They put me in this bamboo cage that was maybe three inches taller than me and four feet wide. They stuck me in there for a week. No food, no water, no blanket, nothing. But I was fifteen then. And they came in the night to do it also." she hugged her legs tighter, "I guess what I got afraid of tonight was the fact that every time I slept alone they would always come. But only then. Whenever someone was with me it was like they wouldn't even think of coming." she closed her mouth now, she knew who she was talking about. Every time _Jarrett _was there with her they'd always leave her alone. She hated it, "That's why I came in here."

Alex looked up at her now, his insides were boiling from everything that she had told him, he got up from the couch and paced around the room for a while, boiling from the anger in him. Those sickening, impudent, brainless, reeking, impassive imbeciles! He felt like he could kill this Grohl man that she'd just told him about. He just wanted to kill him slowly and painfully, he hated the sound of his name right now! If he ever met up with him _anywhere, anytime,_ he would kill him. He'd beat Carter, tortured her and even tried to… No. God, no tell him that he didn't touch her!

"Carter," he went to her and sat on the floor, she was laying on her side with her legs curled up to her chest, playing with a loose strand on the couch. She looked at him, the words she'd just told him dancing in her eyes with an evil that hurt her to think of them, "Carter, did he…did Grohl ever…test you?" he asked. It hurt him just to spit out the words. _Please, say no. Please!_

She looked at him and smiled, "You think I ever let him that close to me? He tried so many different times, he even _drugged _me just to get me in bed with him. But it never happened, I wouldn't let it. My mind actually had sense enough in it to understand what was happening and he never touched me. Well…that way anyway."

Alex brushed her cheek, she seemed so fragile right then. She didn't seem like the person that she'd just described, that went through the torture she'd gone through, she just seemed delicate and fragile.

"I swear to you, Carter," he held her hand, "I swear, they'll pay. For everything they've done to you, I swear on my life that they'll pay."

She smiled, "Coming from you, I know they will."

He smiled back and got up to turn off the light, switching it off and slipping in beside her. He wrapped his arm around her again but she slept with her ear to his chest, right over his heart. He tightened his embrace around her and held her tightly against him. He could feel her pulse against him, how it beat rhythmically and slowly. He kissed her forehead and felt her kiss his chest.

_I swear to you, Carter, to you and to everyone else in this world, they'll pay. They will pay for what they've done, even if it kills me._

**

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**

Please comment! It didn't really turn out the way I wanted but I mean I didn't have the heart to change it, I hope Satellite Heart fit this scene. I absolutely love this song and to me the tune and melody was fit for it. Like I said before, please comment it helps me so much! You have no idea how much it helps me!  
**Xoxo, Millie**

**P.S. after all the time I struggled to put the video on you tube I could not get it on you tube for the life of me! Honestly, I got so frustrated with it I just gave up! BUT I do have the video made and it's all ready to be viewed so if you would like to see it just message me on Fanfiction and maybe I can email it to you if you trust me enough with your email. If not create a separate account that doesn't have any information that you might not want me to have. Please and Thank you and I will try AGAIN to put it on you tube…even though every time I'm like "AAAHHH! FAIL!" but I posted them on Flickr and this is the link you'll need to ****see them ****:) .com/photos/51235362N05/**


	12. Cassandra Yessenia Luving

**Nine years ago. Age fourteen. Cassandra Rosa Luving.**

I was laying in bed, one-fourth awake, a-fourth asleep and half in such pain it was torture. I hid my face into the scratchy pillow Scorpia had given me and kicked at the covers with the other leg that I hadn't broken. I utterly refused to move my upper body because I knew how horridly painful it would be. That stupid metal pole just had to be there when I fell, had to break in half and had to go through me like an arrow through an apple. Something miserable thing had to cut open my back and cement and bricks just had to break one of my legs! Luckily my leg was already healed, the serum that they had put into me was still effective and had been able to seal up the wounds I'd gotten. Except for my side. Which was really stupid. Because it hurt _extremely_ bad!

I was so sick of this. They hadn't let me go out of the room all day and they'd paced around the door like an impatient tiger caged up. I just wanted to run away from here, run as far as I could. Run until I couldn't run anymore; if I had to run from here barefooted I would run until my feet bled, anything to get away from here!

But I knew I didn't have a place to run to anyway, it wasn't like I had family out there that was going to take me in. Heck, I didn't have family out there that even knew I existed! Even so I knew I wouldn't be able to find them and even though they might take me in how could I be sure it wasn't because of something besides "charity"? I wouldn't take the risk, not that big of one. They'd find me. They always find me. The only time Scorpia ever _lost _enemies was either when they were through with them or when they had killed them. Alex was a fine example of _not _losing an enemy.

_Alex…_

I cleared the name out of my mind because I knew I had to. First of all I had backstabbed him to the top, if there was a maximum of backstabbing I know I had gone about a million miles past it. There was no way he'd forgive me. I mean, how could he? I lied to him, hurt him, almost had him killed, and even though I tried my best to just make it all right and fallen (which was actually the stupid thing to do) …which didn't work out as I'd thought it would-Obviously-it seemed like nothing I did would ever clear my conscience or even fix reality. Still I wouldn't go running to him. I refused. I know I would only hurt him more and I couldn't stand to do that to him anymore.

So I laid there, hopeless, hurting and bored. This. Was. Stupid.

And about five minutes later I was being dragged out, fists of my hair were being pulled and a knife was stabbed into my leg that hurt more than anything. Every time I fought back I was always beat back; I was pretty much blind. I hit the stairs they dragged me down like dead weight even though I was trying my best to keep my eyes open and fight back. But still it wasn't any use. I was still too weak and I got to the point where I didn't want to even be alive anymore. I had several things going through my mind at the moment. Like hara-kiri, the Japanese ritualistic suicide those Samurai's did whenever they "dishonored" themselves. Well I'd dishonored myself a long time ago so might as well. But I didn't even have a chance to think that, to _consider_ that. I was already being put into a plan that would become effective nine years from then.

That was the night they killed Geiger in front of me. The gun had been so close to his head that when Grohl pulled the trigger and blew his head off the blood splattered so bad it got all over my face, neck and chest as the two weirdoes that had dragged me out of bed held my arms upward and the male one pushed his knee down into my back. The first most uncomfortable position ever.

When Geiger's dead body jerked back onto the ground, lifeless, I spat at Grohl. Two reasons: one, I hated this man with a passion, I'd seen him around HQ and I absolutely loathed him. He was an ugly bald man with the snottiest "big man" attitude I'd ever seen, he swears he could get any girl no matter what and even tried for me. At fourteen! Sicko! And two, because I had a loogie I'd been trying to get rid of since I'd gotten down there and thought this was a good time. I smiled at him as he snapped a look from his covered-with-spit black shoe to me.

"What's the matter, Grohl?" Ay! My voice was croaking bad, not very menacing, "Defiance too much for you?"

He took two big steps toward me and grabbed my neck, his hand completely wrapping around it. He gave the weirdoes a look that made them release me and suddenly I was in the second most uncomfortable position of the night, being choked by a massive hand and held over four feet from the ground.

"Defiance?" he repeated, his thin lips disgusted at my courage as I sneered at him from my position, well, I say courage others would say stupidity, "You don't even know the meaning of the word, you brat."

I kicked as hard as I could, if I could reach his elbow I could break it in two places and he'd drop me and I could run back to my dorm, even though that would do absolutely no good. But I couldn't reach him. Darn being this freaking short! I was an amazing fighter, not wanting to brag, but I couldn't reach things for the life of me!

"But," his tone changed and I didn't like it a bit, "you are an exotic little thing at that." with his free hand he stroked my side, going down my hip and thigh, "I wonder if _killing _is your only _human_ talent."

"_Hell no!_" I yelled at him, and kicked again, pulling myself down and finally kicked him straight in the gut. He dropped me but on the way down I upper cut him hard in the nose. I began to run back to my dorm even though I knew it was in vain. Grohl officially "owned" me, since Geiger was dead. The "executives" went into position by alphabetical order. He could do whatever he wanted with me. But that didn't mean I would let him.

That was when the guy weirdoe grabbed me by the arm, pulled me up in the air and punched my stomach, slamming me down into the ground. I lost my breath and when I jerked my head up from the ground he hammered me in the mouth and nose. I could taste a mixture of blood and bile on my tongue then. I tried to fight back but I couldn't catch my breath. Then Grohl came over and _I wanted to die._ He kicked me with that stupid shoe of his so hard I rolled on the ground and he broke three of my ribs. The pain was almost as bad as the fall. I was on my stomach and with those broken ribs that was the third worst position ever. I reached out my hand to crawl away when that chick weirdo pulled out yet _another _knife and pinned my hand down into the ground. I screamed so loud I know I was heard farther than just here. I was crying so bad, the pain was so intense and it wouldn't stop. Grohl came over and punched me, kicked me, beat me. My hand was stuck, I had no way to get out.

When he was done, he pulled out the knife from my leg and the one on my hand. I couldn't see anything right then because my vision was so blurred from him hitting my head, I vomited so much blood though. It was like convulsions of them erupting out of me. I felt like I'd vomited my stomach and everything inside, I remember it was spreading out around me there was so much, and the stream from my hand, head, legs and stomach wasn't helping much either. My face was covered in it and so was my body. I know I should've died of blood loss then, but I didn't because of the serum; I could feel it start to close up my external wounds. When Grohl picked me up, cradling me near his chest like a baby, I felt like one giant scar-slash-burn-slash-break-slash-bruise. I was sick of this. He'd done this to me and now he was "taking care" of me?

He took me to my room and laid me on the bed, sitting in a chair by my head.

"Carter," he whispered, "you have to learn to respect." moving a strand of hair from my blood smeared face, he told me, "You were taught that with Geiger and ignored it, but it's mandatory with me. Understand that and do it." he stood up and I could see him hovering over me, "I'll have a nurse in here to help you. Good night, love."

I wanted to yell "Eff you" sooo bad, but I couldn't. I just wanted to fade into the darkness that was surrounding my eyes. I just wanted to die. I didn't want to be apart of this anymore.

**

* * *

**

Six years ago. Age seventeen.

("Airplanes Part II" by B.O.B. feat. Hayley Williams & Eminem)

"COME ON, CARTER!" the Master yelled at her as she fell to the ground from the thwack he'd given her across her back with that long thin wooden rod. The eighth one at that.

She doubled over, clutching her own rod with such force her hands were turning white. Her back was scorching red from all the hits he'd given her in this training session. She was wearing black mini shorts with a tank top that was open in the back and low in the front. That's all she could wear whenever Master Jian was training her for combat. To "get her tough". He'd hit her so many times in the back it was red now with X's and slashes, she was actually bleeding from one it was so hard on her.

"You're not focusing!" he told her.

"I don't give a darn!" she yelled, throwing her rod at him and jumping up, "I'm never gonna even use this crap! I don't give a darn at what Grohl says or does to me I'm not putting up with this anymore!" she was up in his face now.

"But you will." Jian told her flatly.

"Fine speeches you give!" she snapped at him, but suddenly Jian took the end of the rod and jabbed her across the chin and mouth, busting her lip.

"Grohl was right," he told her as she put her hand against her mouth, "you have no respect whatsoever."

"Because I haven't met anyone who deserves it!" she yelled at him, "I don't have use for this! And neither do you, you old pathetic waste of a human being! All you know is how to hurt me and call it a job! You can't even defend yourself! You're a sick waste of flesh! A leech on this freakin' environment!"

Jian smacked her across the face this time and grabbed her by the arm before she spun to the ground. He dragged her out of the training room to outside in the field training area. They passed several students in white robes and teachers in black ones, the ones learning how to concentrate on a fight with noise around them. One of them was the notorious fifteen year old Jarrett Snipe that watched Carter get dragged out curiously.

Jian led her to the end of the courtyard to a lone cage, only a few inches taller than herself and only about two feet wider than her.

"NO!" she yelled and tried to wriggle out of his grip, away from the cage. She punched at him and kicked at him and even though she was causing so much damage to his joints and bones he still held onto her, "Let me go! Let me go! NO!" he punched her once in the stomach then threw her inside. She hit the end of the cage and then before she could dash out he slammed the door and locked it.

"Please!" she shrieked, "Please no!" she shook the bamboo bars, hoping they'd break but nothing happened, "Jian, please!"

"Until you learn respect," he told her sharply and loudly, "You will be punished like this!" he walked away as the students and teachers watched him disappear into the training house, then turned their heads at her as she leaned against the back and hid her face in her hands. She refused to let anyone see that she was crying. She hated this. Not the cage. She despised the cage more than anything.

For eleven days she stood in that cage, there wasn't room to sit it in, with no food, no water, no blanket, no warmth. Nothing. She was left in there like she was forgotten. Which she wished she was. Maybe then she'd be able to run away from here. Just leave and never come back. Start fresh. Next month she'd be eighteen. She could possibly leave. But they'd find her. They'd always find her.

On the eleventh day when Jian came and fetched her, her skin had lost it's coloring, her lips were so dry whenever she talked they bled, her eyes were bloodshot and she couldn't walk. He had one of the male students-Jarrett go figure-carry her back to the girls dorm and lay her down on the little straw mat she usually slept on, except those past ten nights.

He got a bowl of water and dampened a rag into it, dripping it into her mouth little by little. She personally felt like taking the whole bowl and drinking it all at once, but she couldn't. She felt the cool water easing her chapped lips and practically evaporating as they touched her tongue like a drop of rain onto the dry desert ground.

"Why don't you just at least _pretend_ to respect them every once and a while, Luving?" he asked her as he wiped her face with the rag.

"Because," she wheezed, "why waste…my breath…lying?"

"You have a point." he agreed, putting his arm under her back and pulling her into his chest, resting the back of her head against his shoulder, "Here." he pulled a separate wooden bowl that was steaming closer to him and got a spoonful of the liquid in it and put it to her mouth, "It's chicken soup. The most American-ish thing here in Japan. It'll get your strength up a little more."

She took it gratefully. She knew the routine. Mouth off, get the cage or some other inhumane punishment, get better, start again with training, mouth off, get the cage or some other inhumane punishment, get better, start again with training, mouth off, etc. etc. Same old routine. She was sick of it.

But she knew that while all this was happening, somewhere else, possibly still in London, Alex was better. He wasn't suffering all this and he was happy. The worst nightmare of his life was dead and he was safe. That made all this worth it. Every beating, every starving, every punishment. To know that Alex was fine was all that was needed to keep on going.

Or at least she thought he was fine.

**

* * *

**

Four years ago. Age nineteen.

I washed my hands vigorously in the bathroom, scrubbing them until they were raw. I couldn't feel it, I couldn't feel anything. Just the blood of the ambassador that I'd just killed on my hands and skin. It was like a burning sensation on me that wouldn't go away. The blood on my hands wouldn't go away.

I stripped off my blood-stained white tank and torn khaki shorts and threw them against the wall, kicking off my shoes and taking down my hair. It fell against my shoulders like a velvet black curtain as I stood in front of the mirror in nothing but my bra and underwear. I looked at myself then.

I'd never been one for vanity, I'd always hated the girls that thought that thought they were better and more beautiful than everyone else. And even though I was beautiful-I didn't say it out of vanity or pride-I felt like a big pile of mushy dirt. I rubbed my well-toned arms and played with the one strand of my hair that was always longest.

What was I? A murderer…assassin…liar…backstabber…Black Rose. I didn't recognize myself anymore, I was something else, something dark and unable to be happy. I didn't pity myself, I just pretty much hated my life. Everything that'd been put into my life since I was twelve. All because I decided to steal one of the cops car to run away and was tested by CIA because of my "outstanding" skills in natural combat. All because I said yes to that guy on the street that'd told me he could turn my love for hate into something else where I could get paid. All because of one stupid choice.

I squeezed my eyes shut and didn't let the tears roll down my face. _Not this again…don't cry again…you can't cry again…_

I stripped off the rest of my clothes and stepped into the shower, turning the water as cold as it could go. It numbed me after standing there for fifteen minutes and the numbness felt good. I washed myself meticulously, wanting whatever blood that wasn't mine off of me. Every ounce and drop off of me.

Thirty minutes later I was out of the shower, a soft red towel wrapped around me elegantly as I grabbed the small comb from the bathroom counter and brushed my hair back, getting rid of the knots it had. I put my clothes in a small pile then opened the window in the bathroom. I looked below and saw the dumpster was directly beneath it. I dug through my short's pockets and pulled out the gas lighter I had inside, then I bunched up the clothes that'd I'd worn-undergarments, shirt, shorts, socks, shoes-and sparked the light beside it. The clothes caught on fire and I threw them out the window, pitching them into the dumpster as they caught on flames and disintegrated to ash.

I walked out of the white tiled bathroom and into the large cream-colored room I was staying in. There was a huge king size bed with white and gold bed sheets, pillows and comforters, paintings of the Eiffel Tower that seemed very superfluous considering the actual Eiffel Tower was completely visible from the large wall length bay window in my room, there was a large closet that was just as unnecessary considering I only had a small bag of clothing that I'd chunked into the cab when Scorpia told me I was coming to Paris to finish up a mission one of the other agents had barely started, a vanity dresser with a mirror and small stool that I would sit at as I fixed my hair and outfit, a gold couch near the window and a oak coffee table beside it with my gun, knife, and other gadgets sprawled out on it.

I walked to her bag and pulled out my clothes. It was nighttime, around nine thirty and there was a party at this hotel that I was staying at and I'd been invited. Well…me and Jarrett. He'd tagged along with me on this mission unfortunately. I had to be "presentably hot" and not "slutty hot" as he'd put it since I was his date. The Seventeen-year-old had less sense than a fifteen-year-old on dope driving on the interstate.

"**Always On My Mind" by Michael Buble**

I pulled out the floor length purple silk dress that I was going to wear, I still loved purple, and put it on the bed beside the black silk shawl I was going to wear around my arms. I placed the small silver shoes that I'd picked out for it on the floor beside the bed and put the diamond earrings and necklace on the nightstand. I grabbed an oversized t-shirt and slipped it on, going over to the vanity dresser and starting to fix my hair. I pulled it back and tried to make a bump towards the front and leave the rest to flow down my shoulders.

As I brushed it back I looked into the mirror and couldn't take it anymore, I slammed down the brush onto the dresser and squeezed it as hard as I could, holding my stomach with my other hand. I felt like I was going to throw up. Again.

I kept seeing the Ambassador's face as I stabbed him multiple times in the stomach and chest, I could see him still begging for mercy before I took his life, that he had kids and a wife…that he still had his whole life. I could still feel his blood splattering on me as I killed him, could feel my tears drenching my face as I did.

_You're gonna be fine…_ a voice that wasn't my own sounded in my head, a deep velvet voice that I heard every night before I fell asleep into my own dreamless darkness, a voice that sent chills on my arms and made me want to hold it forever. Alex's voice. _You have me…_

_I don't have you, Alex…not anymore._

_Don't cry. I hate seeing you cry… it's okay , Carter, ssshhh…._

I could feel his arms holding me right then, I could feel his breath on my neck and head…I wanted it so bad I could feel it. He was always on my mind. All the time, no matter what. I just wanted him. I wanted him so bad. I wanted my life carefree with him, I wanted anything but this.

_Alex…I want to go back to you…I still love you…my love for you hasn't died…_

I couldn't picture what he'd say to that, it wasn't possible. He could either throw me away and forget about me, or he could give me one more chance to keep me…but that was the longest long shot in the world. He would never take me back. After all I'd done to him…no.

I could see us dancing at this party, rumor was that he'd be there, I could maybe see him again. How I longed to see him…I missed him so much. It was like when he left my life a chunk of my heart went with him…I wasn't complete. I just felt like mush. Dirty mush. And why shouldn't I? I'd just taken a twenty-fourth life this year and it was only July. I was nothing but a murderer. But with Alex…I knew with Alex I could become something different. Something whole. I didn't want this lifestyle anymore. So much torture and so much pain. No more. _Alex…please find me…_

"Hey."

A deep but not so velvety sounding voice came into my room, directly behind me. I put my head down on the dresser quickly and tried to wipe away my tears. Jarrett had never seen me cry and today it wouldn't be the first time.

"What happened to knocking, Jarrett?" I snapped at him, we'd had this talk before. All he even did this for was to catch me in the middle of changing clothes. Which held no point…he'd already smashed me…unfortunately.

Jarrett had come into Scorpia rather unusually. He'd been twelve, I was fifteen, and had originally been training in defense and Jujitsu when Geiger and some other members of the board had seen his hand skill and decided they could use him. So they contracted him without him actually knowing what was going on until the day I'd told him what Scorpia was. Since then he'd fallen in love with me, which I honestly couldn't understand. I mean he was good looking and all, right now he was so muscular it had to be illegal. Even back then I had to admit I'd tap that, but I regretted it once I did. I realized that even Jarrett was nice and all he was all for killing. His specialty was quick kills from ledges with a sniper, which I was good at too but I also did combat killing and explosives. But he got so into his missions at times he seemed to be completely taken over with killing another human being while I…well I still regretted it.

He came over to me and ran his smooth hands down my arms as I kept my head down on the dresser. "I came to check up on you, babe," he told me. _Ugh, _I thought, _'babe'. Not for you, idiot._ I didn't move an inch.

"Hey," he knelt down beside me to get me to get my head up, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Something's wrong. You're never this quiet or still. Come on," he slipped his hand on my thigh and got his fingers under the t-shirt, "what's going on, babe?" he touched my abs, his fingers rippling against the six pack.

I wasn't going to deal with this…unfortunately…there was one way to get him to shut up. If I kept ignoring him he'd squeal to Grohl that I wasn't completely ready for killing people, that I still held emotions every time I did it. And then I'd get beat…get the cage…and have to shoot one of the workers at Scorpia to prove I was black hearted. I couldn't do that, not for a second time.

I wiped my face really quick then stood up, grabbing his Abercrombie & Fitch shirt by the collar and shoving him toward the bed. He fell against it, holding himself up with his elbows as he looked at me, that stupid hot and bothered look on his almond colored face and pinkish full lips. I went over to him and climbed on the bed, putting my legs on either sides of his, sitting on his lap. I could feel him start to go up.

"I told you." I leaned forward to where he finally fell on his back, his arms still pointing up but not for any specific reason, "Nothing. Is. Wrong. With. Me."

I lowered my face to his and began to suck his neck, running my hands down his chest and unbuttoning his shirt.

He chuckled, "I'm glad." he rolled over and got on top of me, tearing off my t-shirt and kissing me fiercely. He didn't even let me take off his shirt, he tore it off himself.

I always blocked my mind whenever we were together. I always tried to think it was Alex even though I knew it wasn't. Alex wasn't this eager, this bothered. He wasn't this prideful. Only Jarrett was.

I kissed him back and tangled my fingers in his black hair. There was only one thing good of this. This would be my punishment instead of the one's Grohl would try to give me. But even so, inside me my heart was screaming to stop, this wasn't right. But when he picked me up and pulled me in so hard that it hurt, my mind and heart started to blur. All I could do was pull at his hair, kiss his hard lips and do what he wanted. I could feel the unearthly chills as he settled me on him, wrapping my legs around his waist and I wanted to cry out. I wanted Alex. I kept my arms around his neck and buried my face into his skin, never saying anything.

I hated this.

This was stupid.

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Ten months ago. Age Twenty two.

"NO!" she yelled, "No, I won't! I refuse! I will not!" she leapt up from the chair Grohl had told her to sit in when he called her into his office to discuss her next assignment, "I won't do it!" she screamed at him, throwing everything off his desk.

He leapt out of his chair and slammed his huge hands on the desk, cracking the wood. "You must and you will!" he commanded her, "I've only kept you alive for this one assignment you _will_ carry out my orders! I don't care what you feel! You'll do it!"

"NO!" she kicked the desk with her stiletto heeled boot and threw the other chair before going to the door.

Grohl ran to the door and grabbed her hand before it could reach the knob, twisting it behind her and pushing it up against her. Carter jabbed her elbow backward and slammed it into his face. Then twisted herself to where she spun around and kicked him in the stomach.

"NO!" she repeated, going for the door.

He grabbed her arm again and threw her against the wall with all his force. She smashed into the picture frame and candles there and they all fell on her, one of them cutting the bridge of her nose and making it bleed.

He took her by the arms and shook her, "You will, Cassandra! This are my orders to you and if you don't have them carried out by September of next year, I swear upon my honor you'll only live to see me torture him!"

"Don't you lay a hand on him!" she yelled at him, trying to hit him but failing.

He slapped her so hard she twisted in his arms from the force. She held back the stream of cuss words she wanted to say to him and balled her fists. She shook her head vigorously and was shaking so hard she was digging her nails into the palm of her hand.

"Now," he told her, calmer, one hand on her shoulder the other pointing at her like a mother would telling her child to be careful, only this was no mother and this was no warning, "You will kill Alex Rider before the end of September 2015. If not, I'll have you chained in Barcelona to only watch one of my other agents torture him in front of you."

"No-"

"You have a choice, Cassandra," he told her, "You kill him"-he pulled out a file from behind him, all of Alex's information was there, his routine, his job, his favorite places, his hangouts, his friends, his love life…-"Or I can. Your choice."

Carter looked at the file then at Grohl.

She didn't have a choice.

She didn't have a choice. She knew what he meant by "I can". He would choose the worst type of torture imaginable to do on Alex, something completely inhumane and he would make her watch. She wouldn't have a choice. Even if he was dead she wouldn't let it be at the hand of "Big Man" Grohl! But she didn't want his blood on her hands either. That was the last thing she wanted to hold of his.

"How do I do it?" she asked, her voice cracking and croaking, her eyes tearing up. She could feel the blood begin to trickle on her hands from where she'd dug in her nails so deep into her palm. It stung, but her mind didn't make mention of it to her.

"How do I do it?" she asked, her voice cracking and croaking and her eyes tearing up.

He smiled, "I don't care. Whatever way you want to. Become his best friend if you must, regain his trust. Could be easier that way."

Carter squared her jaw and sniffled.

His best friend.

She snatched the file from his hand and walked to the door, slamming it behind her as she walked out.

That was the beginning of her assignment.

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Present day. Age twenty-three.

Carter was asleep in Alex's arms, a smile on her face as every deep breath she took was his cologne. Smiling because she was with him again. Everything she'd gone through had finally paid off because Alex was happy. He was finally happy. And so was she. After all she'd put up with she was finally _complete._ She had her best friend back. Her sleep wasn't so dreamless anymore. She didn't want to wake up from this. She was finally in her perfect dream and out of her nightmare that she'd endured for so many years. She had her Alex.

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**PLEASE COMMENT! I really enjoyed writing this chapter! It was all Carter but still it gives you an intimate detail of all that she went through to finally be happy in her present. I really hope you enjoyed it and I'll try my best to update as soon as possible! Please please please comment! I really really want to know your opinion on this! Oh and here's the link again, if there's any troubles please just tell me on a comment or letter thank you! I couldn't get the link completely on here for some stupid reason so just be sure to put _www._ _flickr_ in front of the rest of the link.** .com/photos/51235362N05/

**Xoxo, Millie **


	13. I'm Never Leaving Your Side

**Okay wow um…hey guys lol, so I committed a pretty big fail on my other chapter. I went all complicated for you to be able to see the pictures of Carter and Alex and I just _figured __go to flick .com_and _type in Xoxo Millie _you can see the photo stream. As Bon Qui Qui said, "Complicated Order!" lol so just do that and please either comment on this chapter or on the photos themselves and tell me what you think about the characters :D thanks!**

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The continuous, annoying knocking on his door that turned from raps to loud pounding was what woke up Alex in the morning, at eight thirty in the morning to be exact. He tightened his arms around Carter protectively as the knocking continued loudly. Carter's big gray eyes looked up from beside him, pools of curiosity building up to form a flood that showed she wanted to answer the door.

"Wait a second," he whispered, getting up from the couch and walking to the door cautiously. He made no sound so he was pretty sure there was no way that the person rapping on his door at this unearthly hour of a day off could hear him. But either way what were they doing here so early? Like a persistent pest the knocking got even louder and finally there was a voice from behind them.

"Alex Rider, I know you're in there!" the voice was female…and sounded like it was annoyed, "Alex! Open this door! Don't make me call Jack and tell her you're avoiding me!"

Alex put his hands on his forehead and leaned back, sustaining the half-growl half-groan noise that wanted to erupt from him as soon as he heard the first word that voice said. _Not now! _He yelled in his mind, walking involuntarily to let the woman in.

"Alex, who is that?" Carter asked, leaning over the arm of the couch, "Do you know?"

_Unfortunately, _"Yes." he put his hands on the small indention that allowed him to open the black and silver door and slid it to the side.

Sabina Pleasure.

She stood there in her little white, mini shorts and pink, silk, tank top, her black gladiator sandaled foot was tapping rapidly as she leaned on her hip, crossed her arms and cocked her head. Her short, brown, wispy hair was cut into a bob and seemed as cross as she did at the moment. Her green eyes seemed the color they soon would be-jealous, envious-and her small mouth was pursed into what was resistance to a smile as she saw him again.

"What took so long answering the door?" she asked, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her small mouth.

"Deep sleeper." he said, his lying reflexes faster than normal.

"'Deep sleeper'?" she repeated, putting her hand on his naked chest and brushing it down to his arm, "Since when do you-" she cut herself off as she saw a small tan figure in white dash to the bathroom, a trail of black hair flying after them like a sail. She bit her bottom lip and smacked him lightly, "That's why you're a deep sleeper."

Alex did his best to not throw her out as she kept talking.

Over the past nine years, Sabina had turned from that quiet, nice, innocent girl that had caught Alex's attention because of her quiet beauty into a loud, outspoken snob that was constantly trying to get her second chance with Alex because of his inheritance and job. She'd changed so much over those years that it utterly shocked him when he figured out why she was dating him in his senior in high school and freshman year in college. Still he'd stayed in touch with her…barely though, he'd talked to her when she'd moved back to London her junior year to live with her dying Grandmother to "take care of her" he'd dated her that same year and completely forgot about her Granna until the day Sabina had called him sobbing up a storm on the phone saying that she'd died.

But even so she'd lost herself somewhere, he didn't know when she'd passed her breaking point and sold her soul to the devil of lust and wealth but it made Alex see just how much someone could change over material things.

"Who is it this time?" she asked, her voice less than curious, "A model? Some junkie singer? A stripper?"

"What?" Alex had had his fair share of ridicule over the past years he'd done his several one-night-stands and he knew he was going to get it, but he knew that Sabina knew him better than that to assume "stripper".

But she never stopped talking, "One night stand or are you paying her to stay over until you're done with her?"

"That's enough." he snapped at her, looking down at her.

She waved the subject off with her hand and rolled her eyes, walking over to the white couch and laughing as she saw the sheets.

"Wow. What happened to the bed? Couches more comfortable?" she walked to the loveseat and sat in it to where her long legs dangled on the arm and her head was resting on the other one.

He rolled his eyes, "So what if it is?" he leaned against the wall behind him, "What's it to you-wait let me rephrase this _entire _question, what're you _doing _here? Don't you have a job?"

"_You _have a job." she stated, digging through her purse and taking out a lighter, putting it in between her teeth as she kept digging, "What're _you _doing here?"

"Day. Off."

"Ha. Not from what Sammy dear tells me." she dug through it faster now, as if she'd lost something.

Sam. She was still messing with Sam. Poor Sam. He actually felt bad that the poor guy gave into her every time she needed information on Alex.

"And what exactly did he tell you?" he questioned, walking to the other side of the room near the bathroom. He heard the shower going and saw some of the steam crawling out from beneath the door, like licks of smoke curling everywhere.

"Apparently, you haven't been at work for the past four days-ah ha!"

Alex turned his attention back to the self-absorbed brunette that was now lighting a _joint _on _his _loveseat in _his _living room _without his _consent.

"Anyways," she continued, inhaling the stuff, "he told me you haven't called in for a sick day or to say that you're quitting, you're obviously not getting fired anytime soon and apparently you haven't been answering any phone calls from anybody including your boss Tina Walker."

"What're you spying on me now?" he snapped, going up to her as she put the joint to her pink lips and the smoke trailed up in thin curls up to the ceiling.

She laughed, "No, honey, that was you nine years ago, remember? After those times that'd I'd almost gotten myself killed over just knowing you with that Damian Cray"-she said the name with such hate she closed her eyes, after all the man had almost killed her father and the death he'd gone through was more than enough to remember-"in that Eagle Strike operation or whatever it was, I thought I deserved enough to at least know how your life was going." she smiled as she took the joint from her lips, exhaling a plume of smoke.

"You mean keep tabs on my every move." he snatched the pot from her hands and took a deep breath with it in between his teeth.

Sabina smiled again, "Tabs is a harsh way to put it." she reached out her hand to take back the joint.

Alex looked at her and, this time, he was the one who smiled. He went to the kitchen and dug the drug into the stove then ran it under water in the sink, eventually throwing it into the trash. Sabina had leaped up from the seat when she heard the water running and saw what he was doing to her precious joint.

When he turned back around to her she threw her arms up in the air, "Come on, mate, that was my last one!" she shouted.

"Good." he smiled.

She squared her jaw and stomped back to the living room.

"Since when do you smoke anyway?" he asked, following her and sitting on the coffee table. His house already smelled like marijuana. Darn Sabina!

"Since when do you care if I do or not?" she played with the lighter, flicking it on and off, "God, it's about to rain. I hate rain. Quite depressing, don't you think?"

"What did you come here for, Sabina?" he finally shot at her, he was getting tired of her games and he could hear Carter turn off the shower.

She looked at him and played with the lighter even more. She threw it up and was going to catch it when Alex stood up, snatched it and threw it on the couch. "Do I have to get rid of every distraction to get you to talk?" she smiled at him, mischievously.

"Why have you been missing work, Alex?" she asked quietly, "That's not like you. Is it _them_ again?"

He leaned back on his hands and popped his neck, they both knew what "them" meant, "What's it to you?"

She shrugged, "Just curious. I've always been curious."

"Except when I first told you I was even apart of MI6, you weren't curious and you didn't believe me."

"I was pretty gullible back then and I thought that you were pulling my leg."

_Some say gullible, others say stupid._ "Either way why would you care now?" he stood up and walked into the kitchen, getting a glass of water and conveniently glancing towards the bathroom. He was the door crack open and saw Carter's eye and cheek come into view.

"It just…" Sabina sat up straight in the chair, "It doesn't seem right. Plus with everything going on in the news-"

"What everything?" he nodded to Carter and she smiled back at him the mischievous, little girl smile that made him melt while drinking the water, and dashed from the bathroom to his bedroom in a small black towel that barely reached her thighs. There was no sound from her, except for the faint click from the door as she closed it which Sabina fortunately didn't hear. He barely heard Sabina talking when he saw her slip into the room, his mind was only on that beautiful person that was so close to him right then it was incredible.

"You know, that serial killer that's been killing all those company executives around England? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about."

Alex did his best to not choke on the water in his mouth as she mentioned the Black Rose. Yes, he did know what she was talking about, in fact _who _she was talking about was in the room behind and there was no telling how she'd react if he told her that.

"Alex, you okay?" she asked, getting up from the seat and tossing her short, short hair.

"Yeah, um…" he didn't know what to say, he was stone cold out of ideas. _Come on, Rider, think, think, think! _"Yeah I heard about them, the uh, The Black Rose right?"

Sabina smiled, "Yes, yes that's them and I'm hitting the biggest story of the century about them!"

"Story?" crap. He'd forgotten Sabina was a journalist, her life was lived off of writing about other people's miseries and annoying tabloids in the gossip magazine's people like him saved in the basement so that in the winter they'd have something to put in the fireplace. Now she was tracking down Black Rose who unfortunately was rooming with him until further notice.

"Yeah a story, _and_"-she sat on the barstool and leaned toward him-"I have an amazing lead."

_What! _"A lead on what?" he sipped the water more now and decided to wash out his glass for the first time in his life.

"_Apparently, _a resident in that rinky-dink apartment complex beside you was knocked out cold about four nights ago. It was like seven o'clock when it happened but there is one witness on who it might've been.

"Around six forty-five a caramel-haired girl came into the complex, she went upstairs and never came down. _But some _black-haired girl completely clad in black was seen climbing on the ledge and down the road to _The Silver Wing_."

"That's your big lead?"

"Well…kinda…that's where it all stops. There's no evidence that she got out, no witnesses saw that she was even here, it's like she's still in here but there's absolutely no trace of her!"

Inside Alex laughed nervously, _You're good, Carter. But not good enough._ "So where exactly do you think that going to lead you? Why would you come to my apartment early in the morning to tell me you have a dead end lead?"

"Because, _idiot_,"-she smacked her hand on the counter-"She came three nights ago which means four _days _ago. _You_ haven't been to work in three days and last night was your first night back into your apartment-"

"Stalker!"

"and I know you're hiding something!" she finally snapped.

"Like what?" he was getting impatient with her now. He loved Sabina to death but this was getting ridiculous, "If I had anything to do with Black Rose"-which he did-"what would it be?"-which he knew.

Sabina straightened her lips to a thin line then snatched her purse, pulling out a large yellow envelope. She opened it and dumped out the contents which were pictures, notebook paper scribbled so many times you could barely understand what it said and records that had several names on them. "What's this?" he asked, flipping over the picture in front of him. He did everything in his might to not choke on his water now or freak out.

In front of him, in that picture, was Carter. She had caramel-colored, wavy hair and green eyes but that was Carter. Her nose was the same, her cheek bones were the same, her ruby red lips were still full and deliciously curved, the small beauty mark on the right side of her mouth was there and her eyes were still as penetrating right then as they were when they were gray. She was wearing a blue tank top with a pair of jean mini shorts and black sandals and was looking back as she exited a black Lamborghini with a small duffle bag slung on her shoulder.

"Who's-who's this?" he managed to get out of his tightened throat. _Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap!_ That was all he could think right then! How was Sabina the one getting on their tail!

"Well, _this_"-she pointed at the picture-"is Rubi Santiagos, she registered into a hotel about three blocks from here. She rented it for one night and didn't stay for more than five hours. I interviewed the manager, receptionist and bell boy. They each said she was gorgeous, blah, blah, blah"-she acted like she was gagging and kept on-"and the receptionist and manager said there was nothing odd. But the bellboy…" she scrambled for a piece of paper, "he said…he said…AH! Here it is!" she snatched one of the scribbled on pages and started reading it, "He said, and I quote, 'She was a tiny little thing that looked like she could take on the world'-_That's Carter. _Alex thought, intrigued in the interview and his eyes averting to his bedroom door every second-"but she was also tense, jumpy you could say. She tipped me and all when I helped her with her duffel bag, which was pretty little but I helped her out with it anyway if you know what I'm'-blah, blah, blah. That's what he said."

"That's it?" Alex asked.

"No."

_Of course._

"These were the pictures taken of her leaving the hotel at like six forty five and heading straight to…"

"The rinky-dink apartments beside me?" he repeated.

This wasn't supposed to be happening, not at all. Sabina hadn't called or contacted him in weeks and now all of the sudden she shows up on his doorstep with evidence that he had a wanted person in his house. This didn't match his plan for today, which had been pretty simple and normal and didn't involve almost getting caught. It had been wake up late, get ready, call Jack, take Carter to meet her and see if she could stay with her when he had to return to work. He thought Carter would enjoy the twins and if Eric could get as close to her as Ella was to him then it would be all the better. But now Sabina's curiosity had gotten in his way and his entire plan for keeping Carter safe with Jack was about to come crumbling down.

"Yes." Sabina continued, handing him a few photos that were taken at night with both a night-vision lens and a normal lens, "And look," she tapped the picture with her manicured fingernail, "she looks different in this one."

Alex looked at the picture. Yes, she was different. But all she'd done was changed clothes. Instead of the summer clothes she had on she was in she had changed to a black tank top and skinny jeans with heels. But there was one thing that caught his eye. She was still carrying the duffel bag with her. He put two and two together and guessed that that was where she had put her mask, gloves, gun and knives at when she was prepping to attack him.

"Now," Sabina continued, "she left that hotel and went straight to the apartments next door and went inside"-she showed him the pictures of her going inside, there was one of her looking up and smiling at the camera with a smile that looked more terrorizing than pleasant.

"She obviously saw you, Inspector Gadget." he threw her the photo.

Sabina picked it up and looked at it, "Ah, dang." she slammed it down, "Tommy!" she growled, "Okay whatever but she didn't care obviously."

"Who was taking these anyway?" he finally snapped, people needed their own lives and needed to quit snooping on Carter's! Especially, Carter. Not only did it tick him off that people were sticking their noses where it didn't need to be it was also something that didn't need to be done right now.

"Me and Tommy." she stated, digging through the photos, "Ah-ha! And here is the one I wanted to show you and why I'm pulling you into this." She slammed the photo face down in front of him.

He ground his teeth together when he saw it. Carter was completely in black, a mask on her face and her gray eyes brighter than ever. He recognized when they were that bright, it was only when she had been or was crying. She was slipping into his dining room window and he could see his arm from where he was going back to work on the counter. That was how she had thrown the pan at him and had attacked him from behind.

"What is this?" he asked crossly, shoving the picture back at her. He knew the answer but he needed her to say it out loud so that he could have an excuse for her.

"You know exactly what this is!" she yelled, her face turning pinkish, "This is Rubi or Black Rose breaking into your house! She was here, Alex! I'm not stupid! She came in here and Tommy said that a fight broke loose!"

"What else did Tommy say?" Alex yelled at her, his hand squeezing the glass so hard it broke in his hand. This wasn't happening! Sabina couldn't been on their track! If anyone found out that Carter was with him even MI6 couldn't keep that a secret. It'd be over, he'd be out of a job and in jail. And Carter…She would get a death sentence. This couldn't be happening!

"He said twenty minutes later you were rushing to a car with a half-conscious girl in your arms that matched Rubi's description except she had black hair, who was it, Alex?" she yelled back.

"None of your business!"

"It is my business! Alex, if anyone figures this out besides me they're gonna report you and you're gone! You'll be in prison!"

"Sabina, get out." he said menacingly.

"I am trying to help you!" she snapped at him whirling around, "You have to let me help you if not-" she cut herself off.

Alex looked up at her and saw she was staring straight at the door, her jaw slack and her green eyes huge. Her hands dropped everything she was holding and she seemed so still that she didn't look like she was breathing anymore.

In the doorway to his bedroom, stood a beautiful black haired goddess, with amazing curves and piercing gray eyes, her lips curved into something of a point and somewhat open with curiosity. She had on a loose white dress that was above her knees and her wavy black hair was still wet and around her shoulders. She stood barefoot and her purple polished toes stood on edge. Like she was ready for action.

Sabina knew who this was.

_Black Rose._

"Crap." Carter said, stopping at the door, "I have a feeling I was supposed to stay inside your bedroom." she took a step out of the bedroom then stopped when Sabina stumbled back about three steps.

It seemed like her talking knocked Sabina out of her daze and suddenly she was freaking out in every way that Tom wanted to if he hadn't thought she was so sexy and such a "macho man".

"Al-Al-Alex!" she screamed, running backwards and tripping on her feet. Alex had never seen her eyes hold more fear than right then as she stumbled to get back and continued screaming, "It's-She's! Alex!"

He ran over to her and grabbed her shoulders, pulling her up, "Sabina! Sab, calm down! Sab, just relax-"

"WHAT!" she kicked at him and smacked him across the face, "NO! You're her accomplice! You were hiding her! This entire time when everyone was looking for her you had her in your _bedroom_!"

"Sabina, calm down!" he shook her shoulders but she seemed stuck on her words, her eyes darting from him to Carter. She was going into hysterics and was so loud he knew that the ones below could probably hear her screaming at him.

"I WILL NOT!" she yelled, beating at his chest with all her might even though she knew it was pretty weak. Tears were in her eyes that were mixed with surprise, anger and fear, "You hid an _assassin_, Alex! You have a killer behind you and you helped her! You knew about her the entire time! That's why you missed work, you were helping her! And I bet-bet she had to go get something to kill someone else and that's why you both acted out you leaving the Silver Wing with her in your arms! She's a monster! You lied to me and she-she-"

"Sabina, stop it!" he yelled, shaking her so hard this time she shut up. But it was only to breathe and hyperventilate, "_Sabina!_" he put his hands on her face, "Listen to me!"

"She could kill you, she could-"

"She's not gonna kill me," he told her, "I've known Carter!"

"How could you-?"

"I'll explain it in a little bit but I need to-" he turned around to look at Carter and saw she was gone, "What?" he looked around and saw his bedroom window was open.

"Ohmygosh! No, no, no, no!" Sabina squealed, "She's gone! The assassin's gone and now-now-" she shrugged down the wall and pulled her knees to her chest. Alex didn't pay her any mind.

"Carter!" he yelled, running to his bedroom. He looked down the window and saw Carter walking down the sidewalk, her hair pulled up and wearing red flats, "Carter!" he yelled at her. She looked back and he saw her eyes were bright. She was crying. She looked at him then dashed down the street. "CARTER!"

He grabbed a blazer and already had his sneakers on. He slipped on the shirt and crawled out the window, seeing exactly how she got down there.

"Don't you dare touch the phone Sabina!" he threw over his shoulders to see her picking up her cell with trembling fingers, "Trust me on this. Stay here and please for the love of God _shut up_!"

He walked the ledge then climbed down the column sticking out that had a design that matched something like a ladder. He climbed down it quickly then jumped off the last 5 rungs, ignoring the pain in his ankles from the impact. He started running down the sidewalk as he saw a last glimpse of her white dress turning a corner. He knew this place really well, she was heading toward the alley. Above him the rain clouds were already starting to stick together, darkening all of London for the day. He felt a drop land on his arm. He turned a sharp turn and ran into the alley, he ran down the sidewalk then twisted around just in time to have her slam into him.

**("Broken" by Seether feat. Amy Lee)**

As she did she tried to get away from him, beating at his chest with no more strength than a small child, and he grabbed her by her elbows trying to calm her down. He could see streams of tears running down her face and her body was shaking so hard she could barely control herself. Alex held onto her and tried to get her to not fight back, "Carter! Carter, baby, please. Carter, listen to me. Babe, what's wrong-"

Carter, the tears brightening her eyes to where they almost looked white and transparent and her soft lips trembling so much she couldn't talk, fell into his arms, pressing her own shaking ones against his chest. She couldn't catch her breath, she couldn't talk, she couldn't do anything but cry. She wasn't this type of person. Why had she let that little brat get to her? She'd never cried this much before except for when she'd lost Alex. She'd never felt pain like this except for when she'd fallen thirty stories into her death and survived, she'd never felt this emotionally hurt than when she'd killed her old partner Sammy to prove she was on Scorpia's side at age thirteen. Why had Sabina hurt her so bad? This didn't make sense! She never let anyone hurt her like this but she had, and she was sick of it! But she couldn't talk, and when Alex wrapped his arms around her she felt safe again and the tears just rolled down harder.

"Carter," Alex ran his fingers through her wet hair as he felt her tears soak into his blazer as he stood there in the alley, a sobbing beautiful woman in his arms, "Carter…" he held onto her tighter as she continued to sob, her breaths coming in deep heaves, she was shaking so much it felt like tremors were going throughout her body and she couldn't stop. "Carter. What happened? Why'd you run out like that? Baby, what-?"

"Why did she have to come back?" she cried in his chest, choking on her own words.

"Sabina?"

"Why'd she have to open her mouth? She didn't have to be that nosey! She didn't have to say that! She doesn't know me, she doesn't know the truth! They don't! No one does! Why can't they all just-all just…" she went back into her quiet sobs into his chest.

Suddenly, Alex understood.

_You hid an assassin, Alex…You have a killer behind you and you helped her… And I bet-bet she had to go get something to kill someone else and that's why you both acted out you leaving the Silver Wing with her in your arms!_

"Sabina…" he whispered the name and Carter twisted at his shirt with her small fingers.

She'd called her an assassin, a killer. So had Tom, and they'd both said some things in common and the one he knew that had finally penetrated her iron wall had been, "She could kill you! She's a monster!" that had been Carter's breaking point and it had broke her bad.

"They don't know us…" Carter sobbed even harder, "I didn't…I didn't enjoy it…I didn't want…"

"God," he pressed his cheek against her hair, "I'm sorry, Carter…I didn't think she was gonna stop by and I didn't think she would say so many harsh things like that."

Carter sniffled then pushed away from him gently, "But she's right…Alex, I'm just a harm to you…" she looked up at him and he saw pain throbbing against her eyes harder than waves against the rocks of the beach, "I'm just a danger for you. I don't deserve to be here with you." she pushed away from him and tried to step away from him, "I can't stay…I'm just gonna be your death, Alex…if Scorpia figure out where I'm at they're gonna…they'll…Alex, they'll hurt you. I can't let that happen! They're right." she began to turn away when he grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her gently to get her attention.

"Carter," he felt a pressure in his chest that was beating along with his heart, "no, Carter, listen to me. _Listen to me._"

Carter put her hands on her mouth and looked up at him, trying to stop her sobbing.

"_They _are _not _right, you're not a danger to me!" he practically snapped his words at her, his large keeping a hold of her as she looked at him, "Screw what they think, screw Scorpia, screw everyone against us! You're not a danger to me, Carter," he moved his hand from her shoulder and put it on the side of her face. She shuddered a breath and closed her eyes, melting to his touch. She put her own hand over his and squeezed at his fingers, "You're not my death. And no matter what they think, I'm never going to leave you. You're apart of me, I lost you for nine years but there's nothing that'll do that to us again. You're with me now, Carter, and I'm not letting you go."

Carter opened her eyes and realized then just how much she loved him still, like he told her, screw the world that was against them. They were together again and that was all that mattered.

"You're background may've been an assassin, Carter," the words hit her like bricks in her chest but he kept on, "But that doesn't mean anything. You aren't that, I know you…I love you."

He put his hands on either side of her head and leaned down to kiss her, "I'm not letting anyone hurt you like that ever again."

Carter melted at his touch again, succumbing to him when their lips met.

The thunder groaned above them and suddenly it was raining, but that didn't stop them. Alex kissed her passionately and she kissed him back, tangling her hands in his hair again like the first day she'd come back and he'd kissed her. He put his hand against her head and ran the other down her back, pressing her torso and lower region against him. He could feel the tingle of her wet skin as the rain soaked them, could feel the electric shock of her touch as she moved her hands to his jaw and cheeks. Even as her tongue wisped into his mouth he could feel every electrical shock that went in him just from being so close to her. He loved her. He knew that for a fact. He'd never felt this kind of passion for anyone before and as he continued to kiss her in the rain it only intensified.

Carter never wanted to let him go, he was hers right now and forever. He'd promised to never leave her, she wanted that promise to be true. She pressed herself against him just wanting to be closer to him and as he ran his hand down her spine she felt a sensation she thought could never exist for her. She was in love with him, the way he handled her and kissed and the way she kissed back she knew she wasn't in control anymore…her heart was.

_Screw you, Scorpia_, _MI6,_ they said in their mind,

_I'm never coming down from my Cloud Nine. _

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As usual I ask that you please comment, really would appreciate it! At the moment I'm still thinking about the story plot, some stuff I'm thinking about changing and others I'm thinking about adding so, forewarning, the chapters for a while might be like fill-in-chapters. If you have any suggestions on what I could add please do tell me! And please tell me what you think of the characters pictures! Thanks :D (flick .com; type in Xoxo Millie)

**Xoxo, Millie **


	14. 2nd Best, Introductions, and John Mayer

Anita Roe.

Auburn hair, deep blue eyes, pale skin, 5' 5", Russian. Beautiful. Dangerous.

Carter's opposite in looks, and training. Beautiful, but not Carter-beautiful; dangerous, but not as dangerous. She'd always been in second place, while Luving had gracefully gotten to be Grohl's number 1. She didn't understand why either, the brat was always screaming at him, swearing at him and threatening him whenever he gave her an assignment that was too "emotionally challenging" for her-even though she still did it-and for Anita it would've been a cinch. She was two years younger than Luving but she knew she could do anything she did, maybe even better.

Sure there had been that one mission that she'd gone with Luving and almost had them both killed by being careless of the alarms that she had constantly warned her about, but still she was good. She had gotten the guards of the man they were after away from the door, seducing one and having him tell the other guard go to the other side, only to be knocked unconscious before anything happened between him and her…but Carter had gotten past the crowd, the guards and into the man's office with no trouble or suspicion or use of her training at all, except for when she stepped into the man's office, gotten his clothing completely off and killed him. But that hardly counted as training. That was pure wit. Wit that Roe apparently didn't have, and "couldn't even imagine to have" because for Luving, "it was all natural". Her looks, her attitude, her ability to turn every head in the room not once but twice, always leaving Roe with the third or fourth glances.

Remembering that mission made Roe hit the punching bag in front of her even harder, her hands red from her work out.

She'd been in the training room for well over an hour now, working on her hand-techniques and weapon-tactics (knife, rope, and brass-knuckle wise). Sweat making strands of falling hair stick to her forehead, she could taste it every time she licked her lips since it was dripping to her mouth. Her shoulders were already burning from where she'd been attacking the punching bag but the thought of being second-best made her pick up her pace even more.

Finally, though, she hit it and fell backwards onto the mat beneath her, putting her arms by her head and breathing hard. She'd worn herself out.

She didn't even hear when Snipe walked in, dropping his gym bag by her feet and pretending to fall on her, but putting his hands on either side of her and placing his feet straight away from her feet.

"Tired, babe?" he asked, bending his arms downward to where he was practically on top of her.

Roe smiled sincerely as he did, thinking he was reaching down to kiss her, but her smile disappeared when he pushed back up and smirked, "Push ups."

She rolled her eyes and rolled over to get up. But instead he went down again, pressing his chest on her rising back and whispering in her ear, "Leaving already?"

She turned her head a little and he put his lips to her cheek, still holding himself up in his push up position, but lowering his pelvis down onto her tailbone. Roe did all she could not to let out the sigh that was building in her. Why'd he have to be so darn sexy?

Unlike Luving, Roe had actually developed feelings for Jarrett Snipe. She cared for him and didn't use him as her booty call whenever she was feeling bad or bored, unlike _some _people. She didn't use him. But he couldn't see that Luving was, all the time wasted that she'd tried to convince him that Luving only wanted him to replace what she once had, was just her using him didn't ever see to get past his black haired head. He himself had developed feelings for Luving when she'd had feelings for someone else.

That was how it went. Roe loved Snipe; Snipe loved Luving; Luving loved…well, she said she would never love again after that little act of betrayal she'd done nine years ago.

Another reason why Roe should've been number one, she thought with her head not her heart.

"I have to do some stuff…" she told him, her voice a whisper in the air as the corner of her lips brushed against his full soft ones.

"Hmph." he did a final push up then raised himself up by his toes, "Fine by me, sweetheart. Not exactly looking to give my heart to anyone else right now." he winked at her.

And that made her second-best self mad.

Roe did a push up and pushed back up so hard she was able to get up from just that.

"Why can't you get it?" she snapped at him, balling her taped hands into fists, "She doesn't love you! She never did and never will!"

Snipe leaned his head back and squared his jaw as he tilted it to look at her, "Stay out of it, honey."

"No! Why can't you get it through your thick skull?" she went up to him and stood in front of him, "All those times she was using you as her booty call and-"

"Think I don't know that?" he finally snapped back at her, frightening her but she didn't move, "Think she never told me? Heck yeah she did, plenty of times! And I-"

"Still slept with her?"

"Only because I thought she'd developed feelings for me after all those times. Not me have the urge to just constantly do her every time I see her, you wouldn't understand that. You don't know what it's like."

"Snipe, I-"

"Listen, to me. Somehow-I don't know how-she got me. And she got me hard. So I'm gonna do the same thing to her and you're just gonna have to deal with it!"

He turned around and walked away, punching the bag on his way out and slamming the door.

Roe took one of the weights beside her, a ten-pounder, and hurled it at the wall like a disk, breaking the mirror on it to a thousand pieces.

Second place.

In everything.

_Not for long, Luving, not for long._

**

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Friday Night.

"For real, Rider!" Carter tugged on his arm as they walked down the street, her arm wrapped in his, leaning against his bicep whenever she moved out of people's way but still held onto him, not willing to let go, "Where are we going? And why is Sabina coming?" the last question wasn't asked delightfully. Good. It wasn't intended to be.

He played with her fingers, "You'll see, I promise you'll love it. Plus remember I said this was our first date."

"Very much so." she smiled at him and reached up and kissed him quickly on the lips, her hair sweeping across his face and Alex breathing in the sweet smell of her shampoo.

It was their first date. Way back when they'd hated each other, then loved each other, then lost each other. And the movie the previous night could hardly count as a date what with married couples and Tom being all moody.

Right then they were in downtown London, where several of the clubs were. Different type of clubs, especially Jazz Clubs-something Carter had always wanted to go to.

Carter was wearing a pair of dark skinny jeans with a black top that came right to the brim of her breasts and was open on the edge of her shoulders, simply being held up by the spaghetti straps right on her collarbones but still had sleeves that flowed down to her elbows, she had on silver platform shoes that had black zebra stripes all over. She had a black ribbon instead of a necklace and had Alex's class ring as a pendant, wearing diamond studded earrings and had her make-up very…_mysteriously _done. Her eyes had the smoky eye shadow that was behind her impossibly long lashes made her look mysterious and made Alex want to keep her in his pocket. She looked so beautiful that night with her black hair in waves that fell across her bare shoulders and back.

He still couldn't believe how much she had grown up, last he had seen her they were teenagers. Sure she was filled out, _very_ filled out back then but now she was…wow! He got chills just looking at her. He bit his lip to keep his emotions back. They were in the middle of the street. Not now at least.

He was dressed equally handsome, he had on some dark denim jeans that had a chain that was connected from a front belt loop to a back one, a white shirt beneath a black vest, the sleeves rolled up and the first three buttons open to show a bare chest. His blonde hair was hanging down, the ends almost reaching his eyes, emphasizing the deep hazel eyes beneath them. He had on a silver chain that had a small white-gold ring with a ruby in the middle on it. Carter's ring. In his ear-which Carter hadn't noticed until now-there was a silver stud. (But for her, it made him all the more sexier. She bit her lip just looking at him and held onto him more when she saw women passing them and glancing at them.)

From any onlooker, Alex and Carter were a couple that couldn't go unnoticed, they were just so attractive! And they seemed completely in love! They seemed like the perfect balance. And the way that Alex wrapped his arm around her waist and Carter held onto his arm only showed they felt the same way.

They had both sworn to each other to never leave each other, never come down from that cloud nine.

After of course the whole event with Sabina, who they'd gone back to find was sitting on the couch with Alex's crowbar in her lap and her cell phone beside her leg, it only seemed to intensify their relationship between them. Fortunately Sabina had listened to Alex before he'd run out of the building in pursuit of Carter and hadn't left, hadn't called the cops and had shut up.

But she looked like crap when they came back.

All of her mascara and eye makeup had run down her eyes and face from where she'd panicked and began crying, her hair wasn't placed well, the strands now curling from where they'd been straightened and her eyes still averted from him to her when Alex began explaining to he what was going on.

By the time he'd gotten to Carter and him rushing to MI6 for the device she'd seemed calmer, she had trust in him. She only hoped he would live up to it. She still looked at Carter cautiously and when she'd introduced herself she hadn't hugged her or shook her hand, but simply nodded.

"Okay so…" she'd said when Alex had finished, "Carter and you used to be partners…when you had to go to France after Christmas break, and during your mission-when Carter was a _double _agent-she'd decided to help you escape"-she was talking faster now, as if to just get the words out of her-"she ended up falling with the building and you thought she was dead but she didn't and was re-trained and you were her next assignment. So she broke in but you both still had feelings for each other, she began erupting into pain because of a tracking device they'd implanted in her to tell her to return to Home Base and you took her to MI6 to help her who told _you_ that until further notice she has to stay with you in your house? Correct?"

"Very much so." Alex agreed.

"Ok." Sabina had inhaled raggedly, sworn herself to not leaking the story, telling the cop or putting them in anymore danger. If there was any. At the moment it didn't seem so. But they weren't sure.

After that, she had tried her best to leave, not bothering to clean up but she began to take her big yellow envelope with all of Carter's information with her. Alex wouldn't let her.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked, grabbing her arm before she made it to the elevator. Carter smiled and sprawled out on the loveseat, she didn't know why but she didn't like Sabina. And it wasn't a ugh-she-could-use-a-new-face-snobby-dislike because Sabina was very pretty, beautiful in fact; it was more of a there's-something-about-you-that-tells-me-you're-a-two-face-and-a-bunch-of-trouble-and-I-don't-want-you-around-Alex-or-me dislike. So her smile somewhat faded when Alex stopped her and she restrained her groan as much as she could.

"I-I uh, I'm…going home." Sabina still couldn't talk without averting her eyes toward Carter and back to him, it was like she was scared if she took her eyes off her for an instant she would disappear and do something horrid.

At one point, Sabina had taken a good look at Carter-Carter who obviously didn't like being stared at had snapped, "What is your deal? I don't have a secret agent in my bra you know!" and then gotten Sabina scared again and Carter rolled her eyes, walking off into Alex's room-and when she had she noticed one thing: Carter didn't look like a killer. At 5' 2" she looked like one of the most harmless things ever. She simply looked like a beautiful girl in a city, but beneath all that she knew that she wasn't harmless and that she _was_ a killer.

One thing that Sabina _didn't_ know was that, the killer next door was had actually felt intimidated by her. When she'd seen her, Carter had realized what Alex had been with while she was "dead", what he'd loved and what he'd wanted. She was what Alex had gone for. And why not? Right then she'd felt like Sabina was prettier than her, better than her, and smarter than her because in the end she had been the one to love Alex more than anyone. Even though it had ended harshly, it had still happened. And for Carter to be intimidated was saying a lot for a woman who'd once parachuted into the sea, swam to a castle in Italy and killed the Prince there for $4,000,000.

"With this?" Alex snatched the envelope from her, "I don't think so."

"Alex…" she followed him as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a lighter, "Alex, what're you-no!"

Alex dumped out the contents of the envelope-all the pictures, interviews, notes and tabs on Carter-set them on the stove and lit them up, holding back Sabina when she tried to snatch them back. "What'd you need them for anyways?" he smirked, tossing the flaming pile of papers into the trash and spraying it with water from the hose on the sink once all of it was ash, "You're not writing any story anyway."

Sabina did all she could now to hold back the tears in her ever filling green eyes, her hands shaking from the urge to punch Alex because she knew what she should've already done. She should've run out when he'd gone after Carter, should've gone straight to the authorities and turned her in, should've printed out her story and seen them both put in jail where they belonged! But she hadn't and now she wanted to kick herself for not doing it.

"I hate you, Alex Rider." her voice came out cracked and soft. But they still pierced Alex like arrows to his heart.

"Sabina," he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder, his childish smile fading, "Listen, I know this is hard. But you have to understand me, if anything about Carter slips out that she's with me it could mean trouble. And I'm not talking Police Department trouble, I'm talking about MI6, CIA and Scorpia all being included in this and getting out of hand. I can't have any evidence of her here. It has to be like she's just a girlfriend of mine, Carter Luving has to disappear."

"Her last name's Luving?" she said it with skepticism that a murderer could have the last name that meant caring and affectionate. It was almost ironic.

"Sabina, please…" Alex pleaded with her, he knew Sabina to be two-faced at times and he didn't want to take the risk of it with this. He had to get her word, but he knew the only way he could would be to get her to trust Carter.

So he had come up with a plan.

He'd been planning on taking Carter on a date and was going to meet Jack then and introduced her to her but it seemed now they would make it a triple date. Somehow, Sabina agreed. She said she would meet them there at eight thirty with her boyfriend, Kale.

So far it had all gone good, right then it was eight o'clock as they walked down the street and Alex still had Carter curious at what was going on which was how he needed it to be. He smiled as she rubbed up against his arm, and he felt like time had stood still.

"Will you please tell me?" she whined quietly, "I'm dieing to know!"

"You will, impatient!" he teased, wrapping his arm even tighter around her waist, "Believe me, you'll love it." he smiled at her, his white teeth gleaming.

"If you say so." she smiled back and slowed down as they came up on a crowd waiting to get inside a jazz club called _The Joie de Vivre_, saxophone music and bass guitar strums leaking out of the dark paneled golden windows and crimson curtains, two small doors with a golden music note on the front constantly opening and closing like a swinging one and a long banner up from the roof to the top of the door that said "Presenting John Mayer Acoustic".

"Alex, what is this?" she asked, tilting her head as she looked at it; her signature movement whenever she got curious about something or just wanted to know what it was, her eyes bright with it.

Alex smiled and pulled out two tickets from his pocket, and handing them to her, "Your surprise."

Her jaw went slack as she read them, _Show to John Mayer Acoustic 8:30 p.m. 1 per person_, then switched to a smile as she jumped and hugged Alex's neck tightly, squealing, "Ohmygosh! Alex, really? I-you-_thank you!_" she kissed him multiple times and smiled each time.

He laughed, "I told you you'd like it here." he hugged her waist and said, "Come on, Jack and Greg should be here already."

"Jack and Greg?" she asked, tilting her head again as they went to the front of the line and handed the man their tickets.

"Jack," he explained, "She's like my sister, Greg's her husband. I asked her to come tonight."

"Why?" Carter tilted her head again. Her question hadn't been one out of distaste or smart but an honest curious question. She took his hand as he went through the people, keeping his manners and saying, "Excuse me". It still shocked Carter that even though Alex was a millionaire, had been scarred both physically and emotionally, and had tried to live a horrid version of "the beautiful life", still managed to be a gentleman. Maybe that was what attracted her to him so much.

Alex smiled at her then looked ahead, he could see Jack's red hair that was pulled up into a messy bun and her favorite bright green zebra mid-sleeve shirt. Beside her was Greg, his dark brown hair looked like it was slick backed and he was wearing a gray shirt. They were holding hands, Jack's polished-red fingernails playing with his fingers.

He turned around and put his hands on Carter's waist, pulling her to him as she tilted her head back to look up at him. She felt like "popping" her leg back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Because," he spoke softly to her and just to look at her sent chills down his spine and arms, he hoped she wouldn't notice too badly that he was mad over her, "I want to introduce you to her. She pretty much knows all about you. By that I mean, I came back home, looked like utter crap and in time I told her why. I told her I had someone I really wanted her to meet tonight, someone that was very important to me and she agreed to it."

"Does she know I'm alive?" she arched an eyebrow, "It might be weird to be introduced to the living dead. _I'd_ be freaked."

Alex laughed and kissed her forehead, "Come on, living dead." he took her hand and they went to the table. His fingers tangled with hers and it felt amazing, the chills turned to warm shivers down his body as his mind still wrestled with the idea that she was with him right then, that this was really happening.

He was still having difficulty believing that she was in front of him, he felt like he was going to reach out to touch her one more time and she would dissolve into thin air and his life would crumble to pieces again. Also, there was that curiosity in him that still burned to know where exactly her allegiance lay. He knew Carter to not be heartless, cruel…even though that little piece of his brain that lay in the back of his head, as forgotten as a book in the back of the library, kept telling him she could backstab him at anytime. But her smile was so sincere, her words were so honest; she had wrapped him around his little finger and, unfortunately, he knew he would do anything for her.

"Hey," he said as they approached Jack and Greg, still holding Carter's hand and still smiling. He looked over at her and it honestly looked like Carter was glowing.

Jack's face took an immediate smile as she saw them, she seemed to sense that Alex was overjoyed right then as he held this girl's hand. There was something different about this one, she wasn't like his other _actual _relationships-Keke, Sabina and that one Frenchwoman that was a fashion journalist, Mie Par Amour-she didn't look like a fake. She looked…sincere.

Greg smiled at them both as they came and, unlike the other guys that had seen and met Carter, his eyes didn't linger on her cravingly instead he looked at her like he was another one of Jack's "siblings".

"Finally!" Jack burst, smiling her 100-watt smile as Greg called it, "I thought you guys would never make it! Show's gonna start in like fifteen minutes. Hi," she extended her hand Carter, completely ignoring Alex as he tried to make an introduction, "I'm Jack, Alex's practical sister as I'm sure he's told you."

Carter took her hand and smiled back, "Yes he has! All good things," she nudged him softly, "I'm Carter. Carter Luving."

Jack's smile stayed even when she took back her hand but her face looked confused, you could tell her head was working hard right then.

"Carter…?" she said the syllables like a five year old learning how to read a new word, "That sounds strangely familiar…"

"It is," Alex intervened, his arm on Carter's waist, "Remember a few years back I talked about a friend I'd met, you remember when I went to France for a month…Just before my birthday."

Jack's green eyes went big with understanding, her mouth almost went slack but she suddenly grabbed Carter and pulled her in for a tight hug, exclaiming, "Carter!" she pulled her in and hugged her tightly and Carter hugged back. Jack looked at Alex and mouthed, "I thought she…?"

He gave her look that she recognized as, "We'll discuss it later."

Finally, Jack let go of Carter and when she pulled away she actually saw a moisture build up in the girl's big gray eyes. "It's wonderful to see you, Jack." she told her timidly, taking her hand and squeezing it for a quick second. She hadn't felt a family-like love like that in…well, she'd _never _felt a family-like love like that ever. Her heart squeezed at the fact that she'd received it right then.

"And this is Greg Harrison, Jack's husband," Alex introduced smiling at Jack as she looked at them then looked away, thinking.

"Hello," Carter said, extending a hand to him, "nice to meet you."

"You as well," he replied to her, "But you know I can't say that I've heard your name come up in any of our conversations. Are you a new friend of Alex's?"

Carter looked at Alex quickly, both of their faces kicking into the spy-mode that was burned into them and saying, "Lie."

"No, we've been friends for a while but I wasn't like some big impact," she told him, still smiling sweetly, "My parents moved to Italy when we officially became friends and we were never in touch."

"How'd you guys meet up again?" Jack asked, sitting down in the chair she'd been at, sipping at the glass of Coke in front of her, her green eyes curious.

They sat down as well, all of their seats angling to where they could see the singer perform whenever the clock hit eight thirty. "I came to London to visit an aunt," she lied to Greg, Alex was surprised how smooth it came out, like if it was actually rehearsed, "And I went to Starbucks and when I saw Alex I thought he looked familiar. But I mean, come on, nine years ago he was a lot younger so I took a chance and asked if he was Alex Rider." she smiled at him and held his hand under the table.

"And what'd you do, Alex?" Greg asked, putting his arm around Jack as she leaned back in her seat to get closer to him.

"Well," Alex looked at Carter the entire time he talked, "when she came up I immediately recognized her," he moved a strand of hair from her face, "you know, I just…just recognized her. Her eyes gave it away. I've never seen anything like them before."

Carter put her head down for a second as she blushed from Alex's comment, laughing nervously at it and then putting her elbow on the table and leaning the side of her head against her palm.

"I guess we just…" she began, her voice fading.

"We just knew." Alex finished, looking at her with an admiration that could be seen across from the room.

That was when Sabina and some guy with her came in, Sabina smiling until she saw Carter. Her lips made some kind of movement that made them flash into an instant straight line, like a metal rod that was once curved bending to the strength of two great arms and turning straight under the pressure.

"Sabina," Jack greeted, obvious to Alex that it was completely fake, "you guys made it. Yay." she smiled widely and waved her hands in false-excitement. Alex saw Greg nudge her side quickly then added himself, "Who's your friend?"

Sabina smiled and sucked in the air through her teeth, holding back her ever growing feeling to smack Jack and turn in Carter. Alex could see it, and he gave her a warning glance that made her smile more sincerely. Well, as sincere as sincere was to Sabina Pleasure.

"This is Kale, Kale Gerard." she had one arm wrapped in his and the other she placed on his chest as she said in his name, her eyes switching from Alex to Carter completely forgetting that Jack and Greg were there too.

"Hello." the brown eyed, light brown-haired young man nodded at them and smiled at them.

Alex leaned back as Sabina introduced everyone else, his arm around Carter. This boy had no idea what he was in for just for coming tonight.

"Carter, right?" he asked, shaking her hand the longest.

"Uh," she glanced at Alex then chuckled, "Yeah. Short for Cassandra. I was a pretty big tomboy when I was younger and I liked it a lot better than Cassandra." he laughed uncomfortably.

"Why do I have the distinct feeling that I know you?"

Carter furrowed her eyebrows somewhat curiously, "Um…not too sure. Haha, I-I've lived in Italy most of my life. You must have me mistaken with someone else I'm sure." she smiled apologetically to him.

"Yeah probably," the man laughed and Alex wanted to punch him right then and there.

He had his arm around Sabina and yet the man was flirting with his girl. Right in front of him. _Mother-_

"Ladies and gentlemen!" a man announced standing at the front of the stage, holding the mike in his hand as he tried to get the crowd's attention. Very few got the tables in the front, like Alex and his crew, but several hordes of people were massed up in the balcony above them and they were all not in attention's ability. "Ladies…Gentlemen…_people_!" the man rolled his eyes, but finally the crowd calmed down.

"Thank you," he smiled with relief, "now I'd like to present you with tonight's singer that everyone came to see! John Mayer!"

Carter smiled and snuggled into Alex arm as she clapped, excitement in her eyes as Mayer came out. Alex smiled back and squeezed her, it made him happy just to see her happy.

For the next three hours, John Mayer sat on the stool with his acoustic guitar and sang all of his favorite songs.

Each one a perfect melody for Carter and Alex.

About an hour and a half into the show, Mayer had already cracked his jokes and made his remarks, sending the crowd laughing, especially when he sang, "Walk On the Ocean." But it was this intro to a song that caught Alex's attention the most:

"This is a song about, uh, talking to the person you haven't even met yet. Maybe they're rolling around in the hay with someone else but they're not as good as you'll be," the crowd laughed at that remark, "you just gotta wait your turn." they laughed again, this time Alex and Carter with them, "She's out there, he's out there; they're just learning what to contrast you against." they all clapped as he began strumming his brown guitar and began singing "Love Song for No One." (Actual John Mayer event. I have it and I was like AAH must be in story!)

Alex smiled and looked down at Carter, catching her glance at him and catching the kiss she gave him on the edge of his bottom lip. They had a love song. And it wasn't for "no one".

After that song, almost ironically, he began singing "Assassin". To this Alex and Carter listened intently, but even though-as ironic as the song was-it held the best meaning to it then they could've ever imagined.

**("Assassin" by John Mayer)**

John Mayer had written the song, placing himself as a heartbreaker-an assassin-he could take your heart and kill it before you'd even notice a thing, and then there wouldn't be a trace about him anymore. He'd vanish. And he was the best at it than a lot of men.

_I work in the dead of night_

_When the roads are quiet and no one is around_

_To track my moves._

_Racing the inner lights_

_To find the gate is open_

_She's waiting in her room_

_I just slip on through_

_You get in you, get tongue, and then you get gone_

_You never leave a trace to show your face, you get gone_

_I should've turned around and left before the sun came up again_

_But the sun came up again._

But he'd met a girl that he was bound to do the same with but instead, when they'd woken up in the morning, he'd realized he hadn't been able to. She'd reversed it on him.

_Into the morning light_

_To find the day is burning_

_The curtains and the wine_

_In a little white room. _

_No, I'm not alone_

_Her head is heavy on me _

_She'd sleeping like a child_

_What could I do?_

_You get in you, get tongue, and then you get gone_

_You never leave a trace to show your face, you get gone_

_I should've turned around and left before the sun came up again_

_But the sun came up again._

Instead of breaking _her _heart, she was able to break _his_.

_I was a killer was the best they'd ever seen,_

_I'd steal your heart before you'd ever heard a thing,_

_I'm an assassin and I had a job to do,_

_Little did I know that girl was an assassin too_

When he began the bridge of the song, "_Suddenly I'm in over my head and I can hardly breathe,_"-he stopped playing and bent down to his guitar case to pick up a ruby, red rose-"_And suddenly I'm floating over her bed and I feel everything_"-with his mike in one hand the rose in the other he walked down the steps of the stage, towards the tables-"_and suddenly I know exactly what I did but I cannot move a thing_"-he walked over to Carter, who was exhaling in surprise and smiling brighter than the sunshine-"_and suddenly I know exactly what I done, and what it's gonna mean to me, mean to me. I'm gone!_"he handed her the rose, smiling at her then at Alex. Even a total stranger, who'd never heard of the name Alex Rider, who'd never heard of the name Carter Luving, who'd never seen an actual assassin or spy, could tell that this couple in front of him, listening to him, were absolutely in love. It seemed like they _lived _on Cloud Nine.

Carter beamed brightly at the gift from the mystifying singer, then turned to Alex as the guitar strummed it's final notes. Before she could say anything, Alex touched her cheek softly, cupping it. Gently, sweetly, quietly, his voice like velvet, he told her, "Carter, you're my assassin. I don't know how you did it," he move a strand of hair from her face, "but you did. And I can't say that I regret _ever _meeting you. Ever. Steal my heart, kill my soul. I love you."

Carter's eyes melted and she completely forgot about the rose light-eyed, dreamy John Mayer had given her, right then she forgot she was at a concert, right then she forgot over 400 people were in this club with them, right then she forgot everything; except for what was in front of her. How could she deserve this? After all she'd done? How on earth did God give her an angel like Alex?

"I love you, Alex Rider." she placed her hand over his and kissed him. Not fiercely, not harshly. Passionately. Quiet passion.

_I was a killer was the best they'd ever seen,_

_I'd steal your heart before you'd ever heard a thing,_

_I'm an assassin and I had a job to do,_

_Little did I know that girl was an assassin too._

_She's an assassin and…she's an assassin and…she's an assassin and…_

_She's an assassin and she had a job to do._

* * *

Above in the balcony, about thirty feet above Alex, Carter, Jack, Greg, Sabina and Kale there was a woman sitting with her elbows on the railing listening to John Mayer as well as he finished one song and began strumming another, this one she recognized as "Perfectly Lonely".

She twirled a strand of her red hair between her long, thin fingers. Her blue eyes not on Mayer, not on any guy, but rather on the couple below her. A couple that couldn't escape your eye. The girl was unmistakably gorgeous and hot and the guy was severely handsome and hot. They were almost in competition with Mayer's spotlight as they sat there listening to him.

_What're you up to, Luving? _Roe asked to herself as she saw Carter and Alex kiss, _What're you up to?…_

**

* * *

**

Well this was definitely one of my favorite chapters ever to write! I absolutely loved it! Right now I'm kinda going through a John Mayer/Michael Bublé/Colbie Caillat phase and when I heard this song-Assassin-I literally jumped out of my seat and screamed, "This is their song! THIS. IS. THEIR. SONG!" I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Please do comment and review this for me, please, please, please! Your comments are like the fuel to my writing, the less I get the less I feel encouraged and I don't know why but my writing style takes a trip down hill :P Really would appreciate it! And remember you can see the character's picture on Flickr .com, just type in Xoxo Millie. Thanks **!

**Xoxo, Millie :D**


	15. For the First Time

I am SOOOOO sorry it took so long to post this chapter! I've been so busy now that school's started again and I'm more involved! But I'm still dedicated to finishing this story! Please forgive me and please, read on(:

* * *

Alan Blunt-gray hair, dull gray eyes, gray suit, gray shoes, gray skin and gray smile-walked down the corridor of the Royal & General Bank, headed to the elevator that would go backwards then shoot down with his fingerprint on the 29 button with Mrs. Jones at his side. He stared blankly at the silver metallic doors as he felt the lunge of the shaft in his stomach, his gaze looking like he was in a place less human, less emotional and less colorful than the ordinary. He was thinking.

Mrs. Jones, dressed today in a black dress suit and black shoes, notebook and daybook in hand, knew exactly what he was thinking. She was perhaps the only one who honestly did. For as much as people tried to decipher out Alan Blunt they all made the same mistake, they tried too hard. They all looked at him as if he was some complicated Rubik's cube that needed to be solved. But even a Rubik's cube has a secret to being solved, as with Blunt and Mrs. Jones had figured it out.

"It's been five days since we released Alex and Carter." he told her as the doors finally opened and exposed a busy room with computers, large screens on the walls and ceilings and electrical equipment flowing everywhere like the clouds in the sky.

"Longest five days of my life it seems like." Mrs. Jones commented, not bothering to show her I.D. as they stepped into the Satellite Navigation Headquarters, the names of various people being watched flashing on the screens and scrolling down to show their location and activity.

"What have they been up to, honestly?" he asked, going to one of the screens on the walls, and having a man in a white coat and horrid green shirt, with silver slick backed hair touch the small pad under it and coax the information it held to go on screen to where they could all see it, "For those two to go on almost a week without any trouble it's a surprise that might actually raise Benito Mussolini from the grave."

"Well, don't be too surprised then, sir." Mrs. Jones said, taking the pad from the employee and operating it herself, her fingertips feeling the vibration from every time she tapped and pressed a button on the touch screen illuminated blue, red, green and white.

First Alex's picture flashed up on screen, his full name popping up in giant red letters and a list of who he was and _what _he was underneath it in smaller letters.

Alexander John Rider

DOB: February 13, 1992

Location: West London, England. _Silver Wing Condominium _

Activity: none.

Alliance: past-MI6. Present-MI6.

After that there was a long list of him, his whole life practically summed up in monotone letters that were more dead than a piece of wood.

Then Carter's picture flashed up, but it was older, perhaps when she was fifteen. An up to date one was apparently not available for their records. And just like Alex's it contained everything of his life.

Cassandra Rosa Luving (Name uncertain)

DOB: -, -, 1993 (no record)

Location: _Silver Wing Condominiums_

Activity: none

Alliance: past-SCORPIA. Present-unknown.

"According to our agents," Mrs. Jones continued, flicking the Alex and Carter's files away with her ring her finger and pulling up several images and merchandise records, "on the first day they both went to Alex's apartment-The Silver Wing-but according to one of them, an agent Caleb T. Moss, one of Alex's friends passed by and after he went in, Carter was seen leaving. About an hour or so later, she returned"-a picture of Carter crossing the street and going into the apartment building while holding two brightly colored bags and a hat dimming her face appeared then faded-"and the friend left after thirty minutes of her arrival."

Blunt examined the boy's face as it was frozen on the images, his eyes furrowed, his hands clenched and his mouth twisted into something that would obviously be holding back whatever he was about to say.

"He seems angry." he commented.

"Very much so." Mrs. Jones pulled up another file and the boy's picture was in front of him now, "His name is Tom Harris. He and his brother actually helped Alex with his mission in Italy when he met up with Scorpia for the first time, and also aided him when he and his school went on that field trip to the GM factory and Alex was to steal _ 's files from his computer to discover Poison Dawn."

"So, he's an ally?"

Mrs. Jones shrugged, "Somewhat. It's quite obvious he didn't take a shine to Carter when he met her."

"That's a first."

Mrs. Jones skimmed through the last photos on the Satellite Navigator, going to present time photos of the Silver Wing. There was a security camera on the other side of the street from one of the restaurants and they had hacked into the codes of the security-which was quite pathetic actually-and were now able to see the front, side and back of the apartments. Watching Alex and Carter constantly.

"They haven't met up with any trouble honestly. Friday night, Alex took Carter out to _Le Joie de Vivre _meeting up with his old guardian Jack Starbright, now Harrison, and her husband. Also Sabina Pleasure was there with a friend. A simpleton writer named Kale Gerard. No one to worry about. They've been out a few times during the weekend but always in a crowd. I don't believe there's anything that has gone wrong during these days.

"We asked Alex to protect her until further notice and that's what he's doing."

"That's what was expected." Blunt said, going to the touch-screen pad and looking over the records again for a second evaluation. "But the thing is Mr. Rider has a work life. When Monday comes, which will be tomorrow, he will have to return to that life. He can't take Carter along with him and he can't get her a job there either, that would be too noticeable and what we're trying to do is make sure she isn't noticed."

"But for how long, Alan?" Mrs. Jones finally asked him the question that had been itching her ever since they'd let Alex and Carter go, "What is this all about anyway? We could've sent Alex on his way and made Carter stay here. What are you searching for through all of this?"

"You haven't figured it out?" Blunt walked to one of the screens on the wall, the people in white lab coats with white boring faces passing by him without a care or curiosity in the world. They had all learned that while working here, being curious was something none of them could afford.

"What is there to figure out? Why do you want Carter protected?" she went to his side and crossed her arms, her fingers tapping rhythmically on her forearm.

Blunt never looked at her as he explained.

"We found Carter again because of one thing: she tried to assassinate Alex. That obviously didn't happen, why? Because apparently she still had feelings for him from nine years ago.

"But she came here because a tracker was implanted in her, signaling to come back to headquarters and headquarters was none other than Scorpia. Also, she admitted she was the assassin Black Rose that was going around the major businesses and killing billionaire presidents and vice presidents-but why?"

"To get to Alex without really capturing a shock." Mrs. Jones interjected.

"Yes, but not only that." Blunt touched the screen in front of him and played with the files until a long list of names, locations, faces, weapons and records popped up. Giant red letters flashing at the top of the mess, Scorpia. "They're planning something. Something that includes getting rid of all the wealthy big shots first, but then what else? The prime minister? The Queen? What was their plan in all of this?"

"Alan, you're making no sense."

"I'm making plenty of it, your ears are just refusing to listen." he pressed one of the names and then another, then another and another. Each one had a face, a birth, a summary and finally a red streak across the picture that flashed deceased. "These are all the people that Black Rose has killed and left obvious clues for us to bid on. In each one of these clues there was a smaller clue at what Scorpia was aiming at." he brought up the letters that Carter had written in her victim's blood, the letters curved perfectly and detailed exquisitely. In one she had unnecessarily capitalized three words in various parts of the letter, in another she did the same but three different ones, in another she did the same but with four letters, in another she did the same, and another and another.

CIA

MI6

ASIS

MI5

ASSR

French CIA

"Don't you see?" he finally turned to look at her, his eyes jumping from one feature to the next on her face. He needed her to understand this.

He finally concluded, "Scorpia isn't planning on destroying the world, helping anyone try to take it over or anything like that.

"Scorpia's aiming to destroy every intelligence agency, federal bureau and counterintelligence service in the world.

"They're planning on destroying _us._"

* * *

"Do you really have to go to work tomorrow?" Carter asked, smiling as she ran her fingers through Alex's hair, her legs wrapped around his waist as he held her up against the wall.

Alex smiled back and kissed her bottom lip, feeling the top quiver as it longed for what the bottom one just received. He ran his hand under her thin cotton shirt and up her smooth warm back, not realizing the trails of chills he left there as he did.

"You know I have to." he told her, putting his forehead to hers, he could feel her breath against his chin and cheeks and held back with all his might to just jump at her and seize her beautifully delicious lips that were practically taunting him, "We already talked about this…"

"I know," she rubbed her cheek against his and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her lips skimming the bottom of her ear then kissing his neck once and trying her best to talk past the ever building feeling inside her, "I just…I was hoping you had somewhat changed your mind."

Alex turned her face back to his as he pressed up against her, her legs tightening around his waist and pulling him closer to her than what could possibly be. "Baby," he rubbed his lips against her neck and ear, "I would, I would with all I have but it's too much of a risk. And I don't want to ruin this just because I want to be with you more…I would give up everything if I could just be by your side all day, but I can't. Not without endangering us both."

Carter leaned her head back and sighed, slipping her hands on his chest, "I know. I'm just trying to make myself understand. I just…I don't want to let you go. Plus what am I going to do by myself all day? I'm not gonna leave here without you because that's just dangerous stupidity."

"Well," he moved his hand off her leg and went to the bottom of her shirt, fingering the small hard buttons holding it together. He traced around them and played with them between his fingers, "I was talking to Jack and she said that she's actually going to be at home for the next two weeks. She decided to take a break from her job and she's probably going to be home alone with just the kids…"

Carter smiled, "And I could keep her company right?"

"My thought exactly. I'll only be gone till six, I'll get off early whenever I can. I promise I'll be back home as soon as I can."

She smiled at him again, "Cross your heart?" she stroked his chin and jaw line, sending a chill down his neck and her own arm.

"Cross my heart a thousand times." he left her buttons alone and kissed her again, standing up straight with her in his arms and holding her tighter.

"Mmm." he pulled from her lips and smiled at her, "I forgot, I have surprise for you."

She smiled back, "Another one? Rider," she stroked his hair, "John Mayer two days ago was perfect enough for me."

"Yeah, but there were so many other eyes on you it was hard to enjoy." he winked at her, and kissed her again.

"Is that so? Well I'll tell you one thing," she said as he kissed her multiple times on the lips, nose, cheek and forehead, "It better not be as pricey as John Mayer was. I know you're all Mr. Rich-Millionaire-Man and all but I wasn't too thrilled with those numbers."

He laughed, "Well then you'll be happy to know this only cost me about the price of a bottle of wine and candlewax."

"Then it should perfectly priced." she smiled and kissed him long on the lips.

"Come on," he panted as he put her down, "Put your shoes on."

"Where're we going?" she asked as she strapped her gladiator sandals on and straightened her blue fleece mini skirt and black, loose tank top.

"I told you it was a surprise." he teased, tying his Converse and buttoning the buttons to his dark blue checkered shirt, "I'm not spilling anything."

"You never have."

He grabbed his keys off the counter and got the old Polaroid camera that was on one of the barstools. Might as well go all out old fashioned. He smiled as he took the bandana he put under it and went up to Carter.

"What is this?" she tilted her head playfully.

"A bandana, which accomplishes," he covered her eyes with it and tied it in the back underneath her messy ponytail, "You not seeing the surprise."

"How surprising." she said sarcastically.

"Shut up," he teased kissing her temple and leading her by putting his hands on her shoulders, "Come on."

He led her over to the elevator door and closed the door, locking his penthouse, the Polaroid camera slung on his shoulder and his girl in his arms. He slipped out of it by the side door as it exposed a small 8 foot long hallway and stairs. He couldn't take the elevator up to the rooftop, they'd have to take the staircase.

"Well this is new," Carter commented as she felt her legs moving up the stairs, Alex's large hands still on her shoulders.

When they reached the top stair and came to the door, Alex unlocked it and then pushed on the bar to open it. A small cool August breeze blew past them as they stepped outside, sounds of the outside world echoing about them in sirens, voices, radios and music. London at 9 p.m. echoed around them.

"Okay," he took a picture of Carter blindfolded and she jumped as she heard the click of the flash.

"What was that?"

"Alex Rider Photography."

Carter put her hands on her hips, "I'm not exactly a model to be in pictures, plus my '_eyes aren't smiling_'." she laughed as she quoted the white-haired man Jay off of Tyra Banks' America's Next Top Model.

"Okay," he went back to her and untied the bandana, "Don't open you're eyes _just _yet." he let it drop to the ground then hugged her shoulders from behind, the small developing photo in his hand.

He walked four steps forward with her in his arms then whispered in her ear, "Now open your eyes."

Carter snapped open her bright, curious, gray eyes and gasped softly at what she saw was her surprise.

They were on the terrace of the Silver Wing Condominium, the lights of the buildings, River Thames Bridge, London Eye and Big Ben illuminating from all sides, as well as some small restaurants and jazz clubs from below, a muted hum of the saxophone, trumpet and trombone escaping their dark walls and floating up to meet Alex and Carter.

On the terrace, about six or seven feet from the ledge, there was a red and white checkered tablecloth spread out-the kind that reminded her of small homey restaurants in Italy-ripping, cream-colored, scattered candles in golden candlesticks, standing sconces and on their own wide bases illuminated their small piece of heaven where there were four medium-sized, ruby-red pillows and two large black ones were in a wide pile and a white soft blanket was folded up besides them. In the center of the tablecloth there was a dark bottle of wine in a metal wine cooler with a satin ribbon tied around it, the condensation of the ever cold ice under the bottle sparkling off the candlelight. And to finish it off there was a big blue bowl with a bunch of giant white marshmallows in it, a box of graham crackers, a box of dark chocolate and two chopsticks sitting beside it.

She smiled at the sight then turned around to look at Alex as he took her hand gently again and led her to the small haven, "Come on, blue rose." he smiled and motioned for her to sit down on the pillows and she did so, letting him take off her sandals and set them aside. He put down the Polaroid camera and reached over to the wine bottle and pulled out two wine glasses that were sitting behind it. He unscrewed the cork with the cork opener and began pouring the dark red liquid slowly to fill the glass halfway.

"You failed to mention that the price also included a beautiful view and chocolate." she teased as he handed her the glass carefully.

He kissed her gently on the lips and laid down on the pillows, holding himself up by his elbow and resting his head on his fist, _his _beautiful view was the one he was staring at right now, "I didn't think the price would matter. Not now anyways." he smiled at her as she laid down beside him, resting her head on the pillow and holding the glass near her stomach.

"Did you do this all by yourself?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.

"Well, Tom or Sabina weren't exactly the people to call for help if you get my gist." he took a sip of the wine, his eyes never leaving Carter's face.

She laughed softly, "Completely." she couldn't stop smiling, she didn't want to.

He winked back at her and raised up, setting down his wine glass and grabbing the marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, chopsticks and a candle.

"Now," he poked one of the marshmallows on a chopstick and handed it to Carter as she raised up, "I discovered that even if you flame up your marshmallow by candlelight," he put one on his chopstick and they put them in the small flame, watching it turn slightly brown then almost black and finally catching its own flame only to be blown out, "it still makes an amazing thing called a smore." he squeezed the marshmallow between two graham crackers and chocolate, holding it up to Carter and letting her take a bite out of it.

She smiled and wiped her lips as the chocolate melted quickly and slipped off of the cracker and onto her bottom lip, "I must say, Mr. Rider," she told him, handing him her marshmallow and letting him do the same, "You found a very good way to substitute a campfire for these absolutely _amazing_ creations of chocolate," she smacked her lips playfully, "Very good for a British man."

"Remember Jack was with me when I grew up so I was pretty prone to knowing what the 'good American stuff' was." he smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Carter laughed and kissed him on the cheek, her hand on his other cheek, fingering the line of his jaw. She leaned her head on his shoulder and snuggled close to his side, melting in his arms as she ate the smore he made her. Alex held her closer as he felt her lean in, his fingers tracing the thin straps of her shirt then the smooth, soft skin of her arm.

The moment felt so right then, like even though they were looking out on a terrace and could see most of downtown London they were in their own small world. One where no one could break in or damage them. One where MI6 didn't exist and Scorpia didn't destroy. Where the hands of Big Ben didn't move because time was still while they were together; where the stars were twinkling and sparkling above them even though the city lights blocked them out; where when they kissed and touched the everything froze and the only audible thing was the quiet Jazz music breathing in the air.

Alex reached over and moved a strand of Carter's hair away from her face, caressing her cheek softly and tracing the line of her chin, his eyes examining every detail of her face. The softness of her skin sent unsettling chills on his arms and fingers. He smiled at the fact that she was really here, she was touchable, she was real…she wasn't his nightmares that hurt him. And he could make her smile, he could make those tender, sparkling gray eyes look happier than ever. He could love her.

He took her by the hand and kissed her fingertips, "One last thing." he told her. He got up, barefoot, and went over to the wine cooler, slipping out the white iPod classic hidden behind the mass of condensing silver. There was a small speaker behind the satin ribbon tied around it and the iPod was connected to it. Carter could see Alex rotating his thumb and could hear a faint clicking as he searched through the thousands of songs on there. As he pressed play on one of them he stood up and walked over to her.

He extended out his hand and she took it, standing up, "May I have this dance?" he asked, smiling down at her.

**("Georgia On My Mind" by Michael Bublé)**

Carter took his hand and jumped up, her face glowing and her heart beating quickly. Alex took her small hand in his large one, fitting her fingers in the spaces between his own perfectly, and slipping his other hand on her waist. They swayed to the rhythm of the soft Jazz song, Alex spun every time he found the chance and held her close to him to where she rested her head on his chest.

Carter looked up at him as he held her. And this time she really looked at him. Not for just his features, but even deeper. That was when she wondered…

"Alex," she whispered softly. He looked at her and smiled, leading them as they swayed and danced to Michael Buble's soft velvet voice.

"Yes?" he pulled her in closer, tilting his forehead to hers.

"Why?" she asked, her voice accidentally cracked, "Why do you love me?"

Alex straightened his head again but never let her go, still swaying to the music. He spun her, "Why would you ask that?" he commented, pulling her in again and holding her tighter, the look her eyes were reflecting wasn't pleasant and now she was scaring him. What was she gonna say after he told her exactly how he felt about her? What would she do? Was this the turning point of a good dream turned into a nightmare?

"I don't know I just…" she put her head on his chest, "I just need to know…why do you still love me? I'm not…well…normal."

He ran his hand down her back, "Carter, if you were normal, that would ruin our whole relationship." that made her smile, "If you weren't you…" he pulled her in tightly now, his hand at the top of her skirt, his fingers tracing the elastic, "I honestly don't know where I'd be.

"Carter," he put his lips to her ear, whispering softly and wetly, "I love you"-Carter drew in a shuddering breath as her hands slipped from his and went to his chest-"Let me prove it to you, the best I can…"

Carter drew back and smiled, with a single look from her bright gray eyes he knew her answer.

Yes.

He picked her up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and holding her body delicately and laid her down on the pillows. She smiled and could only look at him with that adoring gaze he absolutely loved. He ran his hand down her neck and shoulders then took her hand and kissed her fingertips, her knuckles, her palm.

"I love you, Cassandra Luving."

Carter put her other hand on his cheek, "I love _you_, Alex Rider."

He pulled her into him and kissed her passionately in the dim light of the candles, the cool breeze of the August wind, and the smooth voice of a jazz singer singing about a love that Carter and he had right then. He kissed her harder, and they made love under the starry night atop of the Silver Wing.

**

* * *

**

("Assassin" by Muse)

Snipe's heart clenched.

His chest tightened.

The breath almost seemed knocked out of him.

He threw down the binoculars he had been looking through as soon as he saw Carter's skirt slip down. His eyes were burning, his hands shaking and his throat was tight. He felt a fire burning inside of him that almost exploded into a scream if Anita hadn't been there to help him.

He'd been watching the Silver Wing carefully ever since Carter arrived there with Alex. It was the only way he could still understand what was going on. Now, watching the woman _he _loved make love to another man, he understood where she was.

"I told you she was a whore." Roe told him blankly-no, sarcastically, picking up the binoculars and slipping them back into their case.

"Shut up, Roe." he snapped, and the red head didn't say another word.

Snipe took out his angel pistol and twirled it in his hands.

He could easily take them both out right now.

They were both vulnerable targets.

He even aimed.

But still seeing Carter's face made him lower it and growl like an animal.

He pulled at his hair and slammed down the guarded gun, "GOD!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, "I hate you, Luving! I _hate _you! Arrrgh!" he kicked at the loose pieces of the rooftop he was standing on, five blocks from the Silver Wing. The image of Carter fully surrendering herself to the enemy, with no regret, pained him and he wanted to kill.

"Well," Roe stated, walking toward the door and opening it as she reached it, "We know which team Luving's playing for. We don't have a choice."

Snipe pursed his lips and burned his eyes into the black top.

Roe sighed, "Do you want me to do it? Or you?"

He huffed, "I'll do her. You can have Rider." he looked back over at the couple on the rooftop on the pillows, not visible to _anybody_ except the people that would now attempt to take their lives from them, "Black Rose…your petals wither and burn soon. Soon, my rose. Sooner than you think."


	16. My Apology Letter to My Readers

Dear Readers,

How many of you hate me? I know I hate myself for leaving this story untouched for so long..

It's been almost two years since I continued the love story of Alex and Carter, two years since I truly wrote to just write for the pleasure of it. I've missed it truly. It kills me that I completely forgot about this story and every character. Sure I didn't invent Alex Rider or make the wonderful and amazing series it came to be, but I did invent Carter Luving and Jarrett Snipe and Anita Roe and everyone else and, though this may sound somewhat psychotic, I missed them terribly. I missed writing about them, developing their lives and loves, describing their movements, creating what they would be, and most of all I missed making you guys happy with all of their stories.

So I ask you, as an upcoming senior who started this story as a freshman, please forgive me for delaying so terribly long on this story. I've reread it and my notes about it and I am determined to try and finish it by this fall. I've already completed the sixteenth chapter in less than a week so I will post that right now and hopefully excite you guys once again with the twisted love story of Alex and Carter.

Thank you for caring and encouraging me to continue on with the story, it has made me realized just how much I truly love writing and getting critiques.

Thank you for staying with me.

Sincerely,  
Millie Saenz


	17. Exposure

Fair warning to everyone… I got a lot into this chapter that I'd had bundled up for the story so it might be a little longer than usual. But thank you for staying and reading with me! Now to continue and finish the story of Alex Rider and Carter Luving! Thank you for staying with me(:

* * *

**"Turning Pages" by Sleeping at Last**

The smell of honey, vanilla, and orchids woke Alex up as his nostrils were filled with the sweet scent. He opened his heavy blonde eyelashes and felt a genuine, heart-racing smile take over his lips. In his arms was the most beautiful, divine creature to ever exist. He couldn't help but sigh as he traced circles and squiggly lines with his finger on her bare arm. Carter was sleeping so peacefully and quietly he didn't have the heart to move his tingling arm from under her. He leaned over and kissed her shoulder, brushing his cheek against her warm skin as he admired her in the dim candle light they had lit earlier.

Wonderful.

Divine.

Perfect.

No words could describe this moment as she slept beside him, tangled in the golden sheets and intertwined in Alex's limbs. Nothing could describe how much he truly loved her.

As he kissed her arm, her neck, her face, Carter started to wake up. She turned her head to the side to look at him, the smooth feeling of his bare warm chest on her bare back made her never want to wake up. As she did, Alex moved the arm that was under her and leaned his weight on it. She twisted around onto her back with her arm above her head, smiling as the beautiful scarred boy traced the lines of her own scars that were on her stomach and shoulder.

"Hey…" he whispered quietly, his voice breaking the silence between them. It wasn't necessary though because the silence between them wasn't an awkward silence. It was a silence that would last for hours and days on end without the smallest penetration of awkwardness. It was comfortable; it was familiar; it was normal.

"Hey yourself…" Carter smiled back at him, reaching up and running her small fingers through his light blonde hair. She looked into his hazel brown eyes and began to touch his temples, his cheekbones, his lips. Alex closed his eyes as she did, melting and shivering at her touch. He took her hand and began to kiss her fingers and palms, bringing her arm up to wrap around his neck and leaning down to meet her lips.

When he kissed her every emotion and memory from just a few hours ago rushed into his head—every feeling, every touch, every movement, every emotion, every sound, and every breath. He held her tighter as he remembered carrying her back down from the rooftop, her legs wrapped around his waist and her fingers tangled in his hair. He almost laughed as he remembered they would eventually have to return to the roof to retrieve their shirts, shoes, and her skirt. Every other garment was strewn across the house and he could barely remember why some things were where they were—like his pants that were strewn across the stove.

Carter pulled away and sighed, not bothering to pull up the sheets as they slipped down to expose her naked chest.

"Well good morning to you too." Alex teased as he ran his fingers down hier sternum and stomach. She blushed and laughed and hit him in the arm.

"What time is it?" she asked, slipping her hand on his lower abs and feeling him shiver for a moment.

"Four." He told her, never taking his eyes off her face.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. "Do you _have _to go?" she whined, "Can't you call in or go late? Trust me, if you stay you won't be bored." She winked at him and traced delicate patterns on the inside of his thigh.

Alex bit his lip and squeezed the pillow behind Carter's head as her touch sent chills to his legs and toes. He swung his arm over her and hovered over chest, placing his hands palm down on the bed.

"You are an absolutely _horrible_ tease!" he told her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "As much as I want to"—he kissed her cheek—"and I very much do"—the side of lips—"very,"—her neck—"_very_ much"—her collarbone—"I have to go to work."—her chest, her ribs, her stomach.

She moaned as he came back and dug his teeth into the side of her neck. "Well…" she tried to find the words to say as the chills Alex gave her made her knees lock to each other and her toes curl, "I –I um…" _Think, Carter, think! Oh, he makes it so hard!_ "I mean you-you… you leave…" she pulled at his hair as he pressed against her, "At… at… ahh…" _Whatever._ She gave up and began to kiss his forehead.

"I go in at eight." He whispered into her ear, biting her cartilage.

"Can you get ready in an hour?" she panted.

"Thirty minutes tops." He told her, his voice muffled against her neck.

"Well then… let's kill time."

"Your wish is my command." Alex said with a smile as he pulled the covers over their heads.

* * *

"**Jealousy" by Frankie Miller**

Snipe paced around the room like a caged tiger, his insides boiling so hot with rage he was liable to hurt someone. That someone was liable to be Roe is she didn't stop talking. Right then she was sitting cross-legged in the brown plastic fold-up chair by the room's window, fingers twirling a small open switchblade and mouth running a hundred miles per hour.

"…mean honestly, what did you expect?" Snipe increased his pacing speed, "Luving's known for getting _intimate_ with her assignments—well as far as I know—and she's been rooming with Rider for a while now."—God, she wouldn't shut up!—"They've probably been acting like rabbits in that house. This was the only time _we _even saw—"

"Roe, shut up." He snapped, his hands balling into fists.

"—and just because you and her 'did the deed' a couple of times—"

"Roe, stop."

"—doesn't mean that she every actually _loved _you. In fact, it makes her a whore who used—"

Snipe reached over and threw the beige lamp that was sitting beside Roe and threw it against the wall behind her with every ounce of his powerful strength, sparks of electricity and glass exploding as it hit. Roe almost leapt out of her seat when Snipe grabbed her by the throat and slammed her back into the chair.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, fighting the urge to break her neck, "I get it! I GET IT! She doesn't love me, she never loved me, and she never will! But you know what, Roe?" he leaned into the frightened, deadly agent, one hand on the wall and the other still at her throat; he could feel her trembling under his hold, "I guess the way Carter feels about me, the way Carter _doesn't love me_, is the same way I will _always_ feel for you!" he let go of her neck and kicked aside the small nightstand that had held the lamp, breaking the top and shattering the legs as it made impact with the wall.

Roe's face felt hot and flushed as she stumbled out of the chair, grappling onto the wall behind with her nails. His words rained down on her like a thousand knives, each syllable and letter cutting into her heart deeper and deeper. _No… he can't say—he-he loves me! I know he does! He loves me! HE LOVES ME! _She straightened herself up and tried to regain her breath. _This isn't happening! No-NO!_

"No." she said out loud, wobbling over to Snipe's side as he stood by the window, his back heaving from his still-present anger, "You… you don't mean that." She reached for his arm but he jerked her away, "Jarrett…" she put her hands on his back and squeezed his smooth leather jacket, "Jarrett, please, I-I… I love you."

He didn't move. Only breathed.

"I can be _so_ much better for you than Luving can. I-I'll never leave you. I'll never hurt you. Please…" she wrapped her arms around his tight waist and felt the rhythm of his breathing as her eyes filled with tears of pleading, "Jarrett, please—" Snipe was shaking now, every word that escaped her anguished lips infuriated him even more—"please just give me a chance! I love you, I-I love you! I love you! I love you! I love—"

"Enough, Roe!" he spun around and lashed out at her, the back of his hand stinging as it made contact with her face, " I already told you NO!"

Roe cried quietly as she held her hot, smarting cheek, lying on her stomach to not look at Snipe as he stepped over her to cross the room. _I love you… I love you…_

Snipe picked up the cell phone on the small, low bed by the corner and dialed in the number he'd memorized over the years. It rang four times before a perky, young woman answered, "Good morning! You've reached Glencoe & Son's Lawn Care and—"

"JS1995-S-bunker3." Snipe identified himself by the identity code Scorpia had given him—his initials, year of birth, company, and rank. He was bunker 3, Roe was bunker 2, and of course Luving was bunker 1.

"One moment please."

Jarrett tapped his foot impatiently as the line rang eight more times. Finally a monotone voice answered the phone, its tone lifeless and dull—machinelike. Snipe realized he was speaking to the Informer Drone, a machine whose primary and only purpose was to inform agents and authorities of Scorpia about the current status of ongoing, completed, or incomplete missions—exactly what he needed.

"Requesting current status of Operation Downfall." Snipe stared out the window, his eyes examining the loud, busy streets of downtown London and watching the thick gray and white pigeons fly off of the rooftops with ease and grace… _with freedom. _He could see Roe get up out of the corner of his eye and sit on the bed, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head on her knees.

"Status of Operation Downfall:" the light monotone voice returned, "Phase 1: ASIS—complete. Phase 2: BIA—complete. All other phases in progress."

Snipe smirked and hung up, reaching down below the window and grabbing a jet black back-pack filled with his belongings. He reached in the front pocket and look out his black angel pistol, slipping on the silencer for future use.

"What's the status?" Roe asked, picking up her own pack from the bed and taking out two throwing knives that held no rubber, plastic, or wooden hilt. She pulled out a small hand gun and slipped it into the back of her tight, thermal, dark pants.

Snipe loaded his pistol with a loud click. "Phases 1 and 2 are complete." He said, playing with the gun in his hand.

Roe slung the back pack on her right shoulder and slipped on her fingerless leather gloves. As Snipe looked back at her he could see four yellowing bruises form on her cheek, memories of his knuckles when he slapped her. Her cheek was red and her eye was beginning to look bluish-greenish. He could tell her _face_ felt _pain,_ his _conscience_, however, felt _nothing._

"More details." She demanded, pulling her hair up and twisting the knives in her fingers.

He smirked again, his amber eyes filling with pleasure as his cold words escaped his gilded mouth, "The Australian Secret Intelligence Service and the Brazilian Intelligence Agency have been shut down and Scorpia is in charge of every army and weapons unit. Both the Brazilian President and Australian Prime Minister are being held with one option—" he walked over to Roe's side and they stood shoulder to shoulder in front of two fold up chairs—"they either sign the papers and give Scorpia control of the country or they die and the country is still Scorpia's."

"So either way they don't have a choice." Her words were sharp and to the point. She twisted the blade through her fingers, the sun glinting off the metal as it spun inhumanly fast.

"Looks like you do have a little common sense in you." He slapped and grabbed her butt, chuckling. Funny. He hated this girl, how desperate she was for him, how much she would crawl back to him after he'd hurt her both physically and emotionally, and especially how much she begged for him to love her. Standing in the light of the sun rays that poured into the small unlit room, Roe looked dangerous. Dangerous and beautiful. The way she handled her weapons and held her stance made her lethal. But the look in her eyes when she turned her face to him made him remember how pathetic she was. He laughed. Maybe he'd never love her but he could sure use her when he bored and lonely.

"Well now that Phase 1 and 2 are complete, " he pointed the gun at one of the chairs, "we move on to Phase 3, which unfortunately, _you two_ will not be around to see."

"**Kill Everybody" by Skrillex**

In the two chairs that Roe and Snipe faced were the ever so confused and ever so frightened Mr. and Mrs. Stelan. They were young, between the ages of twenty five and twenty eight, and newlywed, perhaps three months into the marriage. Snipe could tell from the right still-new sheen of their golden wedding bands. They were bound up, hands and feet, with a white gag tied tightly around their mouths. Mrs. Stelan wouldn't stop sobbing and kept gagging on the cloth; Mr. Stelan kept begging for his wife's safety—Snipe had hit several times in the face and jaw for asking such a ridiculous request. He sat there with a bloody face and black eye, no longer fighting as Snipe raised the fun up at him. Mrs. Stelan cried and yelled as loud as she could, her screams muffled and her tears mixing with the sweat of anxiety around her forehead.

"Thank you for being oh so generous and letting us stake out in your lovely home." Snipe put his finger on the trigger.

Mr. Stelan closed his eyes.

Mrs. Stelan begged for mercy.

"But we must bid you adieu."

Snipe pulled the trigger.

Before the blood splattered the wall and window behind them, Roe leapt and crossed her knives. The glinted and shrieked as she pulled her arms horizontally from each other and sliced the flesh of the Stelan's warm neck flesh. Shot in the head and sliced at the throat. Dreadful, tragic death. No one would know Snipe and she were there.

"Come on, babe." He said, putting his hand on her lower back as she wiped the blades clean on her shirt. To her, her knife was simply dirty. There was no blood, only waster. There was no murder, only a job.

"We've got Phase 3 to move onto." He opened the door for her and led her outside. He chuckled, "CIA won't even know what hit them."

* * *

"Thank you so much for doing this, Jack," Alex said, squeezing her hand in gratitude, "I feel awful that I'm not able to take her with me to Marsh but I know she's safe here."

"Oh, Alex," Jack clamped her teeth together and blew out shortly like the steam engine to a train, "don't even worry about it! She was such good company." She picked up the remaining dishes on the table. As she began rinsing them off and placing them into the dishwasher she continued, "I mean, when you left she came in and it was like the whole house changed! She helped with the kids while I took care of the garden—"

"Didn't that 'garden' die a few months back?" Alex teased, helping her rinse the ivory dishes in the gray marble sink.

"I fixed it, thank you very much!" she stuck her tongue out at him, "But anyways, after that she helped me make lunch and we talked. She's really nice." She smiled at him, "I approve."

Alex laughed as he rinsed out a pot, "Well thanks. I approve too. It means a lot to me considering her… well, you know."

Jack bit her lip, "I know she's 'dangerous' or whatever you want to call her, but I think she just needs to be around, well, be around family. I think she's been around guns and knives and terrorists too long."

Although everything she said was true, Alex couldn't help but lightly laugh. The way she put it sounded so light and unknowing, she made Scorpia and MI6 sound like a simple police station.

"Speaking of which, is she still upstairs?" he picked up a green dishcloth and dried his hands.

She nodded, "With the kids I think," she put in the last of the dishes and closed the dishwashing door, and the glasses tinkling as the air blew them together.

"I'm gonna go check on her." He kissed her forehead and turned the corner to head to the stairs. He could hear Greg's jazz music as he passed his art room's door—Jack's old room. It looked like he finally had more than an hour to paint with Carter looking after the kids.

Alex admired Greg for that reason. He had the courage to work as an artist, a very unpromising and scary job when your inspiration starts leaving your mind like a ship setting sail on a windy sea. But it didn't stop Greg from pursuing his dream. No matter what people told him, he never gave up on his dream—he never put down his paint brushes or let his paintings fade away.

Passing Greg's art room he found the twins' bedroom. A bright yellow E & E painted onto the door front with ponies and flowers on the first letter and cars and dragons painted on the second. Each item was complexly painted with beautiful and complicated detail, each color as exquisite as rare jewels. He turned the door knob and walked in quietly.

Before he even entered, Carter planted herself in front of Ella's cradle and positioned her arm tightly around Eric as he slept on her chest and shoulder. A stance of defense. As she saw Alex come in, she sighed and smiled, resuming putting Eric to sleep. She slightly bounced him on her shoulder and walked about the small room as he rubbed his eyes and kept his arms around her neck, wrapping her hair around his tiny hand. Carter rubbed his back and put her cheek to his red curls.

"Looks like I have some competition," Alex whispered as he walked over to Carter and kissed her forehead.

"I think I like blondes a little more than redheads." She said quietly and winked at him. He leaned down and wrapped his arm around her waist; placing his forearms under Eric's pull up and helping her hold him up. Eric nuzzled his face closer to Carter's chest and held onto her neck lovingly, his long blonde lashes fluttering in the dim white-blue night light that illuminated the bedroom walls.

"He likes you." Alex whispered, "he usually doesn't take to people so quickly."

"Hmm… that makes two of us, buddy." She moved to the opposite side of the bedroom and began to slip Eric into his cradle. As he left her arms and she pulled the blanket over his dinosaur-spotted onesie he started to wake up and almost began to cry.

"No, no, no, baby, it's okay. Shhh…" she stroked his cheek as she saw his rosy lip begin to quiver, "Baby it's okay…" She leaned over the cradle and, for the first time since he'd met her and loved her, Alex saw her do something she'd never done before: she sang.

_Under the night sky,  
behind her closed eyes,  
there's no more sorrow,  
only a meadow._

_ There she dances  
and takes no more chances.  
She loves and she loves  
till her heart's alive again._

Alex sat in the rocking chair between the cradle, holding one of the toy bears that was strewn on the floor, absolutely mesmerized by Carter's song and her voice.

_They won't find her,  
They won't keep her.  
She is gone now.  
Gone for ever._

_Though they wake her,  
from her dreams take her,  
she loves and she dances  
and takes no more chances._

Carter started to lean back up from the cradle, singing the final verse of her song.

_Under the night sky,  
behind her closed eyes,  
there's no more sorrow,  
only her meadow._

She leaned away carefully as she saw Eric's tiny chest breathe heavily and gently. He was asleep.

Alex walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her tightly, his lips to her neck. "You are simply amazing. Did you know that?" he kissed her neck and she squeezed his hand, shivering at his touch like she always did.

"Only because I have you by my side." She twisted her neck and kissed him, "Now, let's leave before they wake up." She grabbed his hand and they left the twins' room.

As they reached the bottom of the staircase, her left arm wrapped around his waist and his right arm draped across her shoulder they noticed it was eerily quiet. They walked into the kitchen and saw Jack and Greg were standing as still as possible. Jack held onto an ivory porcelain plate with her yellow gloved hands, the soapy water droplets sounding as loud as a cymbal crashing as it fell onto the floor. Greg stood by the table clutching a tiny paintbrush, wet with black paint, and a canvas. On the television screen in front of them was a man clothes in a slick black suit, a single red rose pinned on the collar of his jacket. He was large in build and had a slick bald head; his thick brown eyebrows framed his small blue eyes that seemed to penetrate the very core of every viewer. When Carter and Alex walked into the kitchen the man began to speak in a voice that reminded Alex of an avalanche roaring and crashing down a mountainside.  
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," his voice was eerily polite, "my name is Jared Grohl. I am the executive commander of the renowned and aged assassination organization named Scorpia, one of the 15 original executives that began this worthy organization and has survived." Carter's hand tightened on the back of Alex's shirt as he continued, "You might recognize me more as the employer of the notorious assassin known as Black Rose, who is also known as"—Alex clenched his teeth, he knew what would be next, "Carter Luving." A portrait shot of Carter flashed onto the screen and took over every inch of the television. This picture almost screamed as it exposed every ounce of Carter to the viewers, from her dark wavy locks to her stunning diamond eyes. Everything that created Carter's stunning face.

"Now," Grohl continued, the picture fading into oblivion and leaving Carter in anger and anguish, "as the news was currently informing you, the Scarlett Letter spree seems to have come to a stop—_seems._ My dear people, what the government has _not _told you is that the line of homicides and blood written letters was a part of an even _greater_ operation that has begun and is on its way to being complete. An operation named Operation Downfall, very cheesy but the name gets to point we are trying to make."

All over London, Europe, North America—all over the world—the video of Grohl was being broadcast; a video that had been translated perfectly to fit every language in the world. Families clutched their children as the foreign and dangerous face filled their homes and caused unease to their very being. Every word was menacing, threatening, and frightening. Yet, somehow…Grohl's words were also comforting.

"Operation Downfall is very simple: destroy every intelligence agency around the world, therefore causing the _downfall_ of every kingdom, realm, and country in the world." A petite Chinese woman held onto her sleeping baby boy as her husband paced around their apartment, speaking rapidly on the phone to the chief head of police about the idiocracy. "This operation, however, is not intended to destroy any of your family or community. It is much like a _surgical _operation. We are the doctors performing a surgery on you, the ailing pained body, and removing the very posions, toxins, and infirmities that cause you that pain—the government. We only seek to comfort and aid you through the overtake of the governments, nothing more, nothing less." There was a static flicker between Grohl's message and the local news station, but it would take more than an amateur defiance from a small new station to overcome the powerful technology of Scorpia.

"We, your _protectors_, ask you these questions: how much has your government_ hidden_ from you? How much has you government _stolen_ from you? How much has your government _hurt _you?" There was a still bittersweet silence around the world as almost every person listened and watched the big authoritative man intently. "Were you aware that nine years ago the English Military Intelligence 6, who was in charge of _Special_ Operations, took a young _fourteen-year-old _boy and experimented on him in the battle field?." A yearbook photo of Alex flashed onto the screen, his face as pure and unscathed as the navy and red school uniform he wore. "An innocent, unknowing child was thrown into the heinous world of survival of the fittest, weaponry, and terrorism that most men and women would never even dream of for their enemies." A second photo flooded the screen. Here his left eye was swollen and bruised, his lip was busted and crusted with dry blood, there were small scabs of scars all over his pale face, and his eyes held a gaze that belonged to the eyes of a prisoner of war, not a freshman in high school. "Did you know that the Central Intelligence Agency of the _United_ States of America took a small, _eleven-year-old _girl from her loving and protective foster home and turned her into one of the youngest and deadliest agents in the history of the world?" The same type of photos popped up for Carter. In hers she was young, chubby-cheeked, and happy, her face radiating innocence and purity. The second photo she was lying in a hospital bed with tubes, wires, and cords attached to every inch of her body, her face and limbs swollen, bruised and bloody. "Tragic stories really, two of the finest intelligence agencies in the world using _children_ to fight their battles in a war that shouldn't exist in the minds of such young, innocent people.

"So today we tell you, we are _only_ here to protect you. You and your family, your friends, your loved ones, and your children will be safe under our caring wings. Don't let them hurt you; don't let them succeed.

"As of today the CIA, Brazilian Intelligence Agency, Australian Secret Intelligence Service, and French Central Intelligence Agency—as well as the countries they belong to—have been disabled and put under the authority of Scorpia. We move onto the next agencies and we ask you…" Grohl's eyes seemed to penetrate the glass of the very screen Alex, Carter, Jack, and Greg looked into, "Are you with us or against us? Thank you and have a good night."

The message flashed the golden scorpion insignia that belonged to no other than Scorpia and blacked out, leaving a frightened reporter who eyes screamed confusion and disbelief.

"We-uh… we have just received news that ASIS and the CIA have indeed been overtaken…"

The reporter's voice faded into oblivion as Alex and Carter turned to each other. Their identities were exposed; their faces were out in the open. The war Scorpia had created had started and unless they fought and won they would separate from each other again. Only this time they would be separate forever.

* * *

**Thank you so much for reading! Your critiques are indeed appreciated and I hope you guys like my writing style now, I've been trying to mature it and my AP English teachers have definitely been pushing it to its limits :P but please rate and review and more chapter will be up soon! Thank you!  
-Millie**


	18. Silence and Destruction

Before Alex and Carter could even grasp the full concept of what had just happened, there was a clatter by the kitchen table and suddenly Greg was standing protectively in front of Jack pushing her to the far wall by the sink.

"Who are you!" he yelled, scaring Jack and causing her to drop and break the dish that had been trembling in her yellow gloved hands.

"Greg, calm down…" she tried to make him calm, but it was no use. He was in too much of a protective frenzy to "calm down."

Instinctively, Alex moved Carter behind him, almost wincing as she held on tightly to his hand. "Greg, we can explain-" he began but never finished,

"EXPLAIN?" the married man and protective father was in a fury, something Alex had never seen in the artist, not when Jack went over his card limit by 300 lbs, not when Alex accidentally knocked over his bright yellow paintings, and not even when an idiotic young man rear ended him and gave him false explanation. But right now, Greg wasn't upset. Greg was furious.

"What'd you mean _'we can explain'_? You two? There isn't a bone in my body that says to listen to _anything_ you two have to say!"

"Greg, stop it!" Jack shoved him in the shoulder, her voice trembling, "_I _will explain!" she did her best to keep him calm but it seemed like her statement only made things worse.

"_You_ can?" he turned on her, "You _knew_ about this? About _them_?"

Alex could feel Carter shaking behind him, but he couldn't figure if it was because of anger or embarrassment. He knew she wasn't afraid, but he also didn't know the thousands of thoughts that were running through her mind at a million miles per hour. _This isn't happening, _she told herself, _This isn't happening…_

"Yes, I did!" Jack yelled, nose to nose with her artist of a husband, "Every. Single. Bit of it."

"Greg, please," Alex tried to talk himself, "don't get upset with her, she didn't-"

"You, shut up!" he wagged a red painted finger at him, "_Don't_ say a word!"

From upstairs there was a faint cry from one of the kids waking up.

"Eric!" Carter whispered sharply. Instinctively she went towards the red carpeted staircase to get to the small ginger headed baby boy and stop him heartbreaking cries. She wanted to put him back to sleep and remind him that everything was going to be okay no matter how loud or scary his world around his seemed; that nothing bad would happen to him. But it was a promise she knew she couldn't keep.

"STAY AWAY," Greg roared, "_from my children_!" his words were hard and stressed, each syllable a cruel curse to Carter and she could no longer keep up the act that she didn't give a damn at what people said. Her insides were breaking to pieces.

"Don't you dare talk to her that way!" Alex shouted, walking to Carter's side and protectively guarding her, "She's don't nothing to you, Jack, the twins or myself! She's-"

"You know, Alex, I would take your words into consideration," Greg reached into the sink and picked up one of the soapy kitchen knives, trembling as he wrapped his fingers around the hilt, "but I only consider words from those whom I know and trust and from what I just saw on that television," he chuckled uncomfortably taking Alex's same stance and protecting Jack from the two assassin in his kitchen, "I don't think I _know_ who you are."

"Greg, stop it!" Jack pushed his shoulder, tears glazing her eyes as her husband of three years pushed away the only family she had ever had in this foreign country.

"You stop it, Jack!" he threw over his shoulder coldly, "Go check on the twins." she didn't move. "_Go_ check on the _twins_."

Jack clenched her teeth under pursed pink lips and sighed. She walked past him, Alex, and Carter with a look of frustration and anger. Before she ascended the stairs to get to her worried, crying children she reached over and touched Carter on the arm, giving her a grip of reassurance that it would be okay and that she herself trusted her. Her footsteps faded away as she ascended the stairs.

"Greg, please…" this was the first time Carter had addressed him since the broadcast Grohl sent out, her voice croaked as she held back her tears of anger, "You have to understand us, we're-we're not dangerous we're-"

"_Not_ dangerous?" Greg continued shouting, a crazed look in his eyes that was filled with anger and a necessity to protect his family and were laced with a brim of fear. "The notorious Black Rose assassin and former MI6 Special Operations agent _aren't dangerous_?" he let out a delirious laugh, "You two are the _epitome _of dangerous!

"Either leave my house and my family alone or I'll phone the police at once! AT ONCE!"

"And do what, Greg?" Alex advanced towards the civilian; Greg trembled as he held up the knife in defense, too frightened to do anything with it as the tall, built young man came closer and closer to him, knocking the knife out of his hand, "The police are _nothing_ compared to MI6, to Scorpia, or to the CIA! They hold no equivalence! They hold no protection against what they and what _we _can do!" he took Greg's empty hand and twisted it behind his back with blinding speed. Greg wanted dangerous? Fine, he'd give him dangerous. "We are _not _the enemy!" he grabbed onto the collar of his jumper and slammed his head into the sink holding it down with that same hand as he kept his arm twisted tight.

Less than a second later, the knife Alex had knocked out of his hand was protruding from the middle steel lining of the sink, grazing Greg's face and leaving a faint pink line on his cheel. Greg yelled out as he saw and felt the weapon near him and noticd Carter's hand was holding the hilt.

"Know that I could've killed you a _long_ time before tonight!" she snarled, raising his head by his hair and putting her lips close to his ear for a sharp, sinister whisper, "You and Jack were the first on my list to destroy before _any _of this happened!" her fingers twisted righter and tighter into his brown hair and she pulled back harder on his head, "But I didn't because I knew how much, you, Jack, and the twins meant to Alex! I _knew_ you were good innocent people!

"We may be dangerous, but we-_I _would never _ever _hurt your loved ones!" she slammed his head back into the sink and walked away from him. There was a look in her eyes that was cold and relentless, lifeless and broken. Alex recognized the look from the first time he'd ever seen her kill, from when she'd plunged her dagger into the soldier at Scorpia's warehouse in France to protect them. For the first time she'd come back to him, Alex was truly afraid of Carter.

Alex let go of Greg's arm and back away from him, inside he felt like a sorry jerk. He'd let his temper get to him and he knew that letting Carter threaten him didn't help the situation about them. "Greg…" he tried to reconcile with him, "Greg, we-we didn't mean…"

"Get out…" Greg moaned, lifting himself from the sink counter with his palms. As he stood up, Alex could see the scratch that Carter had given him with the kitchen knife oozing more and more blood; the blood left a wide trail on his face.

"Greg, we're sorry, we didn't-"

"GET OUT!" he yelled at them as he touched the cut and looked at the blood that painted his artistic fingers.

Carter bit down on her lip hard, snapping her eyes closed and turning on her heels towards the living room. Alex winced as he heard the door slam open and heard her feet shit heavily on the wooden steps of his uncle's house. He took one last look at Greg and looked down to the floor and walked away, taking Carter's same path and closing the front door gently. _Why is this happening?_

He found Carter leaning against the side of his car, her head and fists on the roof and her back towards him. She was shaking so hard he could see it before he even made it her side, her fists were white from digging her fingernails into her palms. He opened the door for her and let her slip into the seat quietly. He got into the driver's seat and started the ignition, barely hearing the quiet hum of the black Lexus GS underneath him.

They rode in silence on the way back to the Silver Wing, car horns and music from the busy streets of London at night filled the their atmosphere. Carter sat with her legs tucked into her chest and her hands on her knees, a vague expression of anger, cruelty, and, above all, hurt painted on her dimly lit features. Her red lips trembled in the lights that escaped the tint of the windows and Alex couldn't tell whether she was about to burst into tears or into a fit of anger; with Carter, either was expected. But neither happened. She was holding back just as much as he was.

He felt every fiber of his being cringe as he drove, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. His mind swam in an ocean of betrayal and confusion and at the time he was drowning.

_They_ did it. They exposed him. Scorpia exposed him. They were killing him. How much more damage could they do? They had killed his parents, his godfather, his uncle, shot him, left him for dead, hurt him physically, mentally, and emotionally, and taken away the one person with whom he'd sincerely fallen in love for nine years. They'd all but destroyed him. Now they'd exposed him, put his face and past out into the open minds of the world. He wasn't safe. _They_ weren't safe. How many people knew? How many people understood?

As if life was answering his own question, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket. Used to the motion, he slipped it out and pushed down on the green answer button on his iPhone not even bothering to look at the caller ID. "Rider." he answered bluntly, his mind in a different world.

"ALEX!"

His mind snapped to as he heard Tom's frantic voice in his ear, the sound was so stunning he jerked the wheel to the left for a moment. Carter never moved.

"Tom, what's-

"Shut up and listen to me, mate!" he shouted on the other line, Alex could hear a bottle uncapping and Tom's deep gulping. He was drinking, he always did when he was anxious or nervous or worried. "Did you watch the news tonight? Or did you watch any television at all tonight? Scorpia-"

"I saw it."

"-had some weird broadcast transmission! Mate, they showed your face!"

"Tom-"

"-And Carter's! Your both exposed! Sabina's been calling me for the past ten minutes nonstop telling me to tell her where you are because she's going to get the authorities on you! I didn't answer! I didn't-"

"TOM!" Alex's brake screeched to a stop as he hollered and came to a red light, making Carter put her hands on the dash to avoid her collapsing.

"What the hell, Alex?" she said sharply, pushing herself back onto the seat.

He shrugged and waited on Tom to calm down.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" he took another loud gulp of alcohol, "Wait, did you say you saw it?"

"Yes, Tom, I did." he put his foot on the gas pedal gently. He leaned back and motioned for Carter to do the same. She understood what he meant and pulled down both visors. If Tom had realized what was going on other people could too and if Sabina was ready to turn him in as soon as she realized who was being featured on national television other people would too.

"Mate, you got to get out of here!" he warned him frantically, "Sab's probably already got the police at your condo and if she hasn't yet I don't want to be there when she does! Get a plane, get a cab, get a train, get anything! You need to leave before people recognize your freshman year yearbook picture."

"But how're we going to do that, Tom?" he asked him blatantly, "They put our faces where everyone can see us! Everyone military wise or travel wise will recognize us. They people at the airport of train station will definitely spot us and if they do it's gonna take more than a couple of pounds of bail money to get Carter and I out!"

"And if you're in jail Scorpia will-"

"-know exactly where we'll be at."

"Mate, come to my house. There's no way Sabina will come over here, she doesn't have my address. Just stay here with me for the night, you'll both be safe!"

Despite the situation they were in Alex couldn't help but smile at Tom's statement of "You'll both be safe." Maybe he didn't hate Carter as much as he thought he did.

"But that doesn't mean your killer girlfriend-pun _intended-_-is off my bad list!"

He chuckled, "Thanks, mate. We'll be over in a while, we're gonna check and see if anything's going on at my place. If not, we'll stay. If so, I'll phone you and we'll be on our way."

"Okay. Dial if you need anything!"

With that Alex hung up. If he could count on anyone he knew it would be Tom. It seemed as if talking to his long time best friend had somewhat broke the massive ocean of terror that had been drowning him, but as he looked over at Carter he felt a wave of despair hit him and overturn him.

"Hey…" he said quietly, reaching for her and taking her small limp hand, "We're gonna be okay."

"I'm sure." she said bluntly, putting her elbow on the door sill and putting her forehead to her fist, fighting the urge to cry. But her chest and throat felt tight and she knew it wouldn't be long before those damn tears spilt over. She squeezed his hand and nodded, slipping her fist to her mouth and closing her eyes as tight as they could be.

The car rolled to a stop as Alex approached another stoplight, waiting patiently as the dim red light paused them for 20 seconds. In those seconds he unbuckled Carter's seatbelt and pulled her over to him. She willingly climbed over the gear shift and elbow rest and nestling her head and shoulder in the crook of his neck. With her right hand she clutched his shirt and let her left hand dangle at his side. It was a dangerous way to drive, her curled up in his lap and chest but it was also one of the only ways they both felt safe at that current moment, in each other arms. She clutched onto him as the car drove forward and the tears she'd been suppressing finally came and soaked her blonde boy's neck.

"Damn it," she cried, "Damn it all to hell!" she sobbed and sobbed, not realizing the impact she had on him. His own eyes were filling with that dreaded human fluid that made everyone feel lost and weak. "DAMN IT!" she continued to sob, "They'll never stop, they'll never quit!" her fingernails dug into chest and her tears soaked through his shirt, "Everything they do is to hurt us, to rip our insides out-to destroy us… They'll never quit…They'll never-never…"

There was a silence in the car as a single tear fell from Alex's hazel eye, falling into Carter's raven locks and stinging his conscience. Scorpia would never leave them alone. No matter how long they hid, no matter how long they attempted to destroy them if they weren't destroyed Scorpia would never let them rest. But how would they? They were onto them. They were after them. And soon the whole world would be. It didn't matter if he had once worked for the _good_ guys, Scorpia had portrayed him as the enemy.

He saw the Silver Wing start to come into view and waited for the car to arrive at the parking lot's turn, looking for any sign of the law at his condo. But there weren't any around, no police cars or military squads anywhere near, not even Sabina. They were safe, for now. As he began to pull in, however, he began to notice an odd change around him. There were more people out on the streets tonight and less cars. They were jaywalking, running, or walking extremely fast down the street and sidewalks. Each person looked paranoid, lost, and confused, like their life was suddenly turned upside down. With the broadcast's message still clinging to the atmosphere about them it wasn't odd to feel a bit of hostility radiate from the people. But suddenly more people came from the southern end of the road, passing his and other's cars. They began to pour into the streets even quicker now, hitting and shoving his car as they passed.

_What the heck?_ Alex thought to himself as he heard the crowd grow louder and louder, the noise going from normal speaking volume to yelling, screaming, and roaring as the crowd ran past, some holding signs and others _wearing_ the signs. _What is going on?_

"Alex, drive." Carter said stiffly, the tears she'd just cried leaving small trails of makeup along her cheeks

"What?" the command had been so rash and straightforward it threw him off guard.

"Just drive!" she was looking behind him and as looked in his rearview mirror he ran over the curb and got into the street, forcing the ones parading there to move and tell at him. About a quarter of a mile behind him, there was a sea of people who were angry, confused, hostile, and, above all, frightened. In their hands were signs that read "No Trust, All Lies!" and "Defending the Country; Deceiving the World!" and the ever so repeated phrase, "Don't Let Them Hurt You; Don't Let Them Succeed." Suddenly there was a bright orange and yellow light erupting a hundred feet behind them.

"What was that?" he shouted as he drove as quickly as he could through the crowd, people clinging to his slick black Lexus' body.

Carter gasped as she looked behind them into the back window. It was happening. Everything Scorpia, everything that Grohl has planned was happening. And as she remembered, the canopy to the Silver Wing condominiums caught fire. The savage crowd threw fire engulfed papers and clothing onto it and douced what was left with gasoline and flammable liquids. She watched in horror as the Silver Wing caught fire and was pulled down from its flights.

That was when she remembered.

When she remembered everything.

* * *

_**19 months ago. **_

_**Chelyabinsk, Russia. **_

"Operation _Downfall_?" Carter said the name with distaste and disappointment. What a boring name for a mission. At the moment she was in Grohl's office, sitting in a nice slick, cherry wood chair in front of his large desk wearing nothing but her short training shorts and tight wide-strapped tank top, sweat lacing her forehead, abs, and thighs. She'd just gotten out of combat training ten minutes ago, her adrenaline had been pumping and her anger had been causing her to train extremely hard today. Beside her in an identical but separate chair was Anita Roe. She had less expression than a brick. She had no input during the meeting with Grohl, only examined and picked at her recently manicured nails.

How was this girl ranked number two? As much as she hated to admit it, Snipe deserved that rank more than Roe did and was presently proving it through being uncooperative throughout the meeting. But Snipe, who had been flirting around with her ever since she walked through the door, was beginning to remind her of why he was number three. He stood behind her chair, arms crossed and back straight with legs standing hip width apart. He looked like a prime soldier. An invincible soldier. An experiment that had followed her own experimentation.

"Yes, Downfall." Grohl confirmed, he sat placidly behind his large wooden desk, leaning back in his office chair with his large behemoth-like hands folded together. "I understand the name isn't up to your _expectations_ bu the mission will most indeed be-"

"No mission or mission name you give out will ever be up to my expectations." she snapped. She was tired and didn't want to be here. Not only had she just returned from training, but she'd also just returned from a mission that involved murdering the ambassador of India while in Mumbai thirty-two hours ago. Snipe had been with her on the mission but his company was nothing to be grateful for since every night he would come into her room and try to sleep with her. The mind blowing factor was that every night she would give in to him, she would allow him to come in and undress her, and she would undress him just to feel a burst of excitement and enjoyment considering what her previous actions had just been. However, that only made him more attached to her both physically and mentally. And that endangered any mission they were put on together.

But she was tired and sore. Her shoulder still ached from tumbling down a ceramic shingled house in Mumbai and dislocating it. The thing that made it worse was that she had been the one to relocate it on the spot.

"It's a slow operation so you'll be fine." Grohl unwrapped his hands and opened a drawer in his desk, pulling out a blue metal file. Running a small black card over the face of the flat screen on the file's cover, the digital lock unlatching and enabling him to take out the papers within it.

Before Carter could even think about taking the papers that were directed at her, Roe snatched them from Grohl's hands and began to read them over. Carter didn't feel like messing with the little girl at the moment so she let her take the files. She'd get them eventually.

"The purpose of the operation," Grohl explained, leaving his desk and walking about, "is pretty simple: take over every intelligence agency and force the government to hand over their authority to us." he sat on the edge of his desk and leaned the majority of his weight on his right leg, allowing the left one to dangle lightly from the floor.

"So basically, world domination?" Snipe questioned, his American accent ringing out oddly against the German and Russian ones that sounded throughout the room. Carter's own sounded odd since she also was American, but hers never sounded too odd. It blended in simply because it was a voice that had been spoken thoroughly throughout the halls and rooms of Scorpia's warehouses and headquarters.

Carter could hear Snipe's arms unfold and could feel his fingers playing with the top of her shirt hidden. Grohl and Roe couldn't see what was happening and had Carter not felt his cold touch she wouldn't have either.

"In a way, yes." Grohl sat on the front corner of his desk in front of Carter, "Once the agencies and countries have been overtaken we plan on bringing them together in a sort of _kingdom-_-"

"You mean a dictatorship." Carter interjected this time, "And how exactly do you plan to get the people to comply with you? They have a big say in who rules them. If they're just forced into this 'kingdom' of yours they'll riot against you. They'll fight, they'll petition-they'll turn on you."

"Which is why it is better to have them riot _before _our kingdom is created than _after_."

She tilted her head to the side in question, like a confused puppy dog, " What exactly do you mean?"

"Before _all _the agencies are taken over we'll need some help." the leg he dangled from the ground "casually" brushed Carter's bare calf. She crossed her legs away from him and kept her arms crossed. She couldn't stand Grohl touching her in _any_ way. Snipe she could put up with, _not_ Grohl.

"The help will arise from people _through_ the riots and _through_ the fighting." his eyes gleamed with the hint of evil that made up his very core and soul, "We're going to start small, make them uncomfortable. We'll do that with some missions of which I will go into further detail later but all you need to know right now is this: Snipe will do the missions involved in America, Roe will take care of Asia and Europe, and you'll be in charge of the United Kingdom-"

"Why am _I _in Britain?" she was beginning to lose her temper. Her going to the UK would mean she'd have the greatest chance of seeing _him_ again. "Send _me_ to America! I know the roundabouts, I know how to work easily and undetected down there. America is the element of my missions. I absolutely _refuse_ to work in-"

"You _will_ work in Britain." Grohl snapped cooly and rashly, never moving from his position on his desk, "One: we need you to be detectable. Two: we need the most deaths to occur in England than anywhere else and you are the best agent for the job."

Roe chuckled at Grohl's statement, making Carter roll her big gray eyes. "Give it to Roe. Obviously she differs in your opinion."

"Hell yeah, I differ." she tossed the papers to Carter who caught them in a smooth swift flick of her hand. She could tell the redhead was getting angry at her. Not only was she getting angry, she was also getting jealous as well. Here she sat, Snipe at her shoulders and Grohl in front of her and she wanted _none _of it. Roe, however, wanted _all_ of it.

"Roe is to be stationed in Asia, Russia, and Europe. In the end we need more deaths in England than in those four other countries _combined_." his foot brushed her calf again, "No options."

"So how are your missions going to make the people 'uncomfortable'?" Snipe asked, slipping his rough fingers underneath her bra strap. Carter knew what would happen in their training bedroom once this meeting was over. She rolled her eyes at the thought. She didn't feel like it today.

"Your targets will be men and women of importance. For example, you Snipe, will be assigned to get rid of a couple of congressmen and women, Roe, you will be assigned to the ambassadors of your countries, and Luving"-he brushed her leg again-"will be assigned to getting rid of major business executives."

Her hands went into fists that were ready to swing. Everybody in that room knew that _he _had been newly appointed to Vice President of Marsh Electronics, which was on of the wealthiest electronic companies in the world.

"But," Snipe, the idiot, was still confused, "How will that make people uncom-"

"Their superiors will be destroyed." she stated with a cold voice, "Government employees-Congressmen and women-who _think_ for the people, ambassadors who _represent what's best_ for the people, and business who _protect_ the people through stable jobs will be destroyed. Once they're all out of the picture…" she looked Grohl in the eye, "All the people have left is God…"

Grohl chuckled, "Exactly. Also, once the murders are complete, or close to completion, we'll have a 'comforting' broadcast sent out around the world. The broadcast will portray the government in the people's mind as evil, hold them as the ones responsible for every pain and trouble their family has ever suffered."

"A propaganda to recruit the people to rebel against the government." the idea suddenly made sense in her mind.

1. Frighten the people.

2. Comfort the people.

3. Lie to people about their government.

4. Turn the people against their government.

5. Recruit the people.

6. _Take over the people._

Grohl chuckled. "Precisely."

* * *

"Carter, where are we going?" Alex's voice filled her head as she left her memory and realized when and where she was.

"Turn the people…" she whispered to herself, her diamond eyes wild, frantic, and comprehending.

"What?" Alex was able to drive fifty miles per hour now that he'd gotten ahead of the riot, but even here the people were gathering and running, some attempting to hit his car. When he saw a man with a brick beginning to run towards him, he pressed down on the gas pedal and sped up to 60, yelling "I wish you would!

"Carter!" he snapped angrily, turning a sharp corner into downtown London, "Carter!"

"MI6." she said warily, a distant gaze in her eyes as she bit down on her bottom lip. Alex recognized that look. It meant she was putting something together in her mind. "Go to MI6!" she said, finally in her right mind, "We need to talk to them!" they shared a look with each other, "I know what Scorpia's planning…"

"I thought you-?"

"No, I completely forgot that Grohl told me! He-he told all of us!" she clenched onto his shirt as he turned a sharp right corner, "I got so obsessed with my assignment with you I completely forgot about why my mission even _involved_ you in the first place and-"

"Carter, we've got five minutes before we make it to the Royal & General which means you've got five minutes to explain to me what they're doing!"

The next few minutes Carter spent explaining everything from how Grohl sent for them the training centers to when she completely realized his plan. As she explained the operation and the details came together, the city and the people outside seemed to fall apart. The roar of the English citizens was louder than the gentle hum of Alex's Lexus, their cries both angry and frightened. Phase 4 was in effect. Grohl was right. Inform the people and scare them out into anxiety they would react rashly to protect family, friends, and these themselves. It was a human reaction, a natural instinct…an act of normalcy.

The sound of glass shattering on his left made Alex press down on the gas pedal. He wanted his racer now. He wanted the speed and protection it offered. He wanted to take Carter, Jack, Tom, and the twins as far away from this crazy place as possible, away from the danger and fear. Where were they anyway? Were they safe?

"All that's left for them is to 'recruit' and they've taken over before anyone can even realize it." she crawled over him carefully and got back in her seat, pulling out the small phone Alex had given her from her pant's pocket. She dialed the number to MI6, to Mr. Blunt's office. It was one she never truly forgot. Her fingers no longer resented the numerical pattern that once brought her pain.

Alex brought the car to a stop. She shot him a look of confusion. MI6 was still ahead of them?

"We're four blocks away," he said to her, shutting off the engine and opening the door, "The riot's not here yet and I don't want to lead anyone to it." he took the keys and shoved them into his pocket, closing the door. As Carter got out, he snatched her free hand and held it tight as they ran to the tall Royal & General Bank, its golden letter gleaming in the distant red flames that were dancing around the stage floor of London.

"They're not answering!" she shouted as they ran, redialing their mainline. Inside they both knew something was wrong, something felt terribly wrong.

Unfortunately, their instincts were terribly right.

Inside, four blocks away, on the fourteenth floor of the Royal & General Bank, were two captive people: woman with oddly cropped hair, a harsh look in her eyes, and peppermints in her suit pocket, and a man whose being matched the color of grey. The two captives were formally known as Mrs. Tulip Jones and Mr. Alan Blunt.

They sat with the utmost dignity and pride as the two young Scorpia agents paced around them like snakes ready to strike. They were bound hands and feet with thin light ropes that cut into their wrists and ankles. They're mouths, however, had no gags. The two agents, one female and Russian and the other male and American, needed them to talk. But they had failed in doing so. Jones and Blunt were the strongest pair of government operatives they'd detained. Either the duo cared greatly about their positions in the British Government or they didn't care at all.

Alex and Carter were three and a half blocks away now. "PICK UP!" she screamed, terror building inside of both of them. MI6 _never_ missed a call.

"Tell your Queen to give up the authority of operations!" Roe screamed at Jones, a crazed look in her eyes, "You don't have a choice, you know?" she plunged one of her throwing knives into Jones' left thigh. The woman with odd cropped hair let out a silent scream as she bit down on her teeth and closed her eyes tightly at the pain. "Oh come on," Roe taunted, twisting the knife in her pretty gray pant legs and making her throw back her head and bite down on her lip, "That doesn't hurt? Not even a little?" She smiled smugly as she pulled the knife out and slapped her across the face. "Pathetic." Beside her, the phone rang frantically.

"Let's go." Snipe called to her, opening Blunt's office window. Outside dangled a thick black rope ladder that led to a helicopter that hovered above the bank, its blades heavy against the ludicrous wind.

"Until next time, beautiful." Roe smirked, walking toward Snipe and landing a blow again Blunt's already beaten face.

"Go to hell!" Jones yelled, tasting the blood from her own torn lip and the bile that was building in the back of her throat. Her leg was on fire from pain.

"You first." Roe growled. She climbed through the window and jumped onto the ladder.

Two blocks away. They'd seen the two human figures leap out of the building and onto the ladder from the helicopter. They could see the silver insignia of Scorpia gleam in the dark of the night. Alex was confused as to who the figures were; Carter recognized them immediately.

The sight of the helicopter and agents made Alex uneasy-one and a half black aways-and he ran harder. His heart pounding in his ears, his chest heaving, and sweat lacing his forehead. He held onto Carter's hand tightly as he felt her keep up with him.

**("Victor's Piano Solo" by Danny Elfman) or ("Beethoven's Silence" by Erenesto Cortazar) I simply couldn't choose!**

That's when it happened.

When everything fell slow and silent.

Alex and Carter were thrown back from the blast and heat as the Royal & General Bank exploded into an away of vibrant warm colors, shades of orange, yellow, red, and black erupted into giant billows of smoke and flame and destruction. Melted metal beams, hot, broken glass, and chunks of charred cement flew in the smoke smeared sky over a dazed and flushed Alex and Carter as they fell, hand in hand, onto the shaking debris filled ground.

Piece by Piece the Royal & General Bank fell apart. It's golden metallic letters crashed into the hard, gray ground with silent but loud crashes, turning on itself as it made contact with earth.

Piece by piece, the MI6 Special Operations Unit Head Quarters…

… was destroyed.

* * *

**Thank you guys for still reading and keeping up with this story! It means a lot to me that you do! I'm thinking about going back and cleaning up Black Rose and A New Mission, A New Love-by thinking I mean I will! I would love, love, LOVE to hear any suggestions that could make the stories even better! I just want to make Alex and Carter's story as memorable as possible.(: Thank you guys again! Reviews are GREATLY appreciated! They are a writer's best friend! So please, please, **_**please**_** review! :D**

**-Millie**


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